Freeport's Gold Business Shines Despite Sharp Quarterly Decline in Bullion Prices

Freeport-McMoRan's (NYSE: FCX) gold business proved resilient despite bullion's worst quarterly decline in over 13 years, according to its latest earnings report. The company attributed this resilience to elevated gold prices, which allowed it to realize an average gold price of $4,520 an ounce, a 37% increase from $3,291 an ounce in the second quarter of 2025. This significant price difference helped Freeport report adjusted second-quarter earnings of $1.1 billion, or $0.74 per share, compared with $790 million, or $0.54 per share, a year earlier.

The company's gold production remains constrained by the ongoing recovery of the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine in Indonesia, which is expected to operate at approximately 65% of capacity during the second half of 2026 and reach 80% by mid-2027. At full operating rates, the underground complex is expected to produce roughly 1.3 million ounces of gold annually, alongside 1.7 billion pounds of copper.

Freeport's earnings were slightly lower than analyst expectations as consensus estimates forecasted $0.78 per share. However, management said the Grasberg recovery remains on schedule and that production Blocks 2 and 3 achieved their planned operating rates during the second quarter.