MMarketMath

FCX

Fast growerQuality: Medium (67/100)2 red flags

Freeport-McMoRan · Materials · Copper

$77.80

52w 35.15 – 78.88

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$111.7B

P/E

26.9

P/FCF

100.1

FCF yield

1.0%

ROE

22.0%

Shldr yield

0.9%

div 0.8% + bb 0.1%

What today's price assumes

At $111.7B, the market is pricing in 29.9% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last five years, FCF actually grew 1.1% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $10 · $10 · $12 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 6.7× across 15 years, FCX would trade near $26/share (25th–75th percentile: $19–$40); it trades at 19.9× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+2.7%

Rev 5y

+12.6%

Rev 10y

+5.6%

EPS 5y

EPS 10y

−4.9%

FCF 5y

+1.1%

FCF 10y

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2011–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2011: $20.9B
2012: $18.0B
2013: $20.9B
2014: $20.0B
2015: $14.6B
2016: $14.6B
2017: $15.9B
2018: $18.9B
2019: $14.3B
2020: $13.9B
2021: $22.4B
2022: $23.3B
2023: $22.7B
2024: $25.2B
2025: $25.2B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
11
14
17
20
23

Net income

2011: $5.7B
2012: $4.0B
2013: $3.4B
2014: −$745.0M
2015: −$12.1B
2016: −$4.0B
2017: $2.1B
2018: $2.9B
2019: −$189.0M
2020: $865.0M
2021: $5.4B
2022: $4.5B
2023: $3.8B
2024: $4.4B
2025: $4.2B
−$10.0B−$5.0B$0$5.0B
11
14
17
20
23

Free cash flow

2011: $4.1B
2012: $280.0M
2013: $853.0M
2014: −$1.6B
2015: −$3.1B
2016: $924.0M
2017: $3.3B
2018: $1.9B
2019: −$1.2B
2020: $1.1B
2021: $5.6B
2022: $1.7B
2023: $455.0M
2024: $2.4B
2025: $1.1B
−$2.5B$0$2.5B$5.0B
11
14
17
20
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2011: 955.0M
2012: 954.0M
2013: 1.0B
2014: 1.0B
2015: 1.1B
2016: 1.3B
2017: 1.5B
2018: 1.5B
2019: 1.5B
2020: 1.5B
2021: 1.5B
2022: 1.5B
2023: 1.4B
2024: 1.4B
2025: 1.4B
0500.0M1.0B
11
14
17
20
23

Margins

-50%0%1113151719212325
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2011: $1.4B
2012: $1.1B
2013: $2.3B
2014: $1.3B
2015: $605.0M
2016: $6.0M
2017: $2.0M
2018: $218.0M
2019: $291.0M
2020: $73.0M
2021: $819.0M
2022: $2.2B
2023: $863.0M
2024: $924.0M
2025: $972.0M
$0$1.0B$2.0B
11
14
17
20
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$10.0B$20.0B1113151719212325
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q2'23: $5.9B
Q3'23: $5.9B
Q4'23: $5.8B
Q1'24: $6.2B
Q2'24: $6.4B
Q3'24: $6.7B
Q4'24: $5.9B
Q1'25: $5.6B
Q2'25: $7.5B
Q3'25: $6.8B
Q4'25: $5.3B
Q1'26: $6.3B
Q2'26: $6.9B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
23
24
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q2'23: $731.0M
Q3'23: $964.0M
Q4'23: $1.0B
Q1'24: $1.2B
Q2'24: $1.3B
Q3'24: $1.2B
Q4'24: $721.0M
Q1'25: $793.0M
Q2'25: $772.0M
Q3'25: $1.2B
Q4'25: $1.3B
Q1'26: $1.4B
Q2'26: $984.0M
$0$500.0M$1.0B
23
24
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q2'26$6.9B−8.1%$984.0M+27.5%0.68$2.0B
Q1'26$6.3B+12.2%$1.4B+74.9%0.61$1.5B
Q4'25 *$5.3B−10.4%$1.3B+85.9%$693.0M
Q3'25$6.8B+2.1%$1.2B+0.9%0.46$1.7B
Q2'25$7.5B+17.6%$772.0M−39.7%0.53$2.2B
Q1'25$5.6B−10.3%$793.0M−31.8%0.24$1.1B
Q4'24 *$5.9B+1.4%$721.0M−28.4%$1.4B
Q3'24$6.7B+13.9%$1.2B+28.2%0.36$1.9B
Q2'24$6.4B+7.9%$1.3B+75.1%0.42$2.0B
Q1'24$6.2B+21.4%$1.2B+10.8%0.32$1.9B
Q4'23 *$5.8B+6.7%$1.0B+3.1%$1.3B
Q3'23$5.9B+10.5%$964.0M+72.1%0.31$1.2B
Q2'23$5.9B−3.9%$731.0M−29.6%0.23$1.7B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+2.7%+12.6%+5.6%
Operating cash flow+3.0%+13.2%+5.7%
Free cash flow−12.6%+1.1%+2.3%
EPS (diluted)+17.7%+1.2%−4.9%
Equity+6.7%+13.2%+9.2%
LT debt−2.4%−1.6%−7.6%
Diluted shares−0.2%−0.2%+2.9%
Stock price+26.6%+18.0%+23.7%+5.4%

$100, 3 years ago

$203vs $176 in SPY

26.6% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$229vs $181 in SPY

18.0% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$839vs $412 in SPY

23.7% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$221vs $813 in SPY

5.4% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$2.72

$50.0B created / $18.4B retained

Last 10 years

$4.23

$82.0B created / $19.4B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

20.2%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

4.8%

MC vs 10× OCF

1.99

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

8.0y

SBC / FCF

10.8%

Owner earnings

$995.0M

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

0.9%

Share count 5y

+3.0%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

161.7%

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$0.97

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 25.2% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 33.3% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 8.4% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

13 of 24 checks pass · 54%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

4/6

  • Revenue growth

    12.6% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    na
  • FCF growth

    1.1% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Revenue rises consistently

    6 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    fail
  • FCF consistently positive

    9 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    8 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    13.2% vs 12.6% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    pass

Profitability

5/6

  • Net margin

    16.5% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    25.9% · ≥ 10%

    pass
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    22.0% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    20.2% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    4.4% · ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $5.6B vs NI $4.2B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

2/4

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    8.0y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    43% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    0.47 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $18.9B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

2/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    3.0% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    fail
  • Stock comp restrained

    11% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    87% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

    4 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    fail

Valuation Discipline

0/4

  • FCF yield

    1.0% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    26.9 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    29.9% vs 1.1% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    0.9% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    fail

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Heavy debt load

Long-term debt exceeds 5 years of free cash flow.

Shareholder dilution

Diluted share count has grown by more than 2% per year over ~5 years.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
202525,1866,5184,1525,6104,4941,1168651071213,8248,91318,8991,443
202425,1696,8644,3997,1604,8082,352865591093,9238,90717,5811,445
202322,7036,2253,7515,2794,82445586301094,7588,65616,6931,443
202223,2717,0374,4795,1393,4691,6708661,347958,1469,58315,5551,451
202122,4228,3665,3652.907,7152,1155,600331488988,0689,07813,9801,482
202013,8942,4378650.413,0171,9611,056730993,6579,67710,1741,461
201914,3481,091-189-0.171,4822,652-1,1702910632,0209,8219,2981,451
201818,9454,7542,8941.783,8631,9711,892218764,21711,1249,7981,458
201715,8883,6902,0951.254,6661,4103,2562714,52611,8157,9771,454
201614,564-2,729-4,025-3.163,7372,8139246864,24514,7956,0511,318
201514,607-13,512-12,089-11.313,2206,353-3,1336058517719,6757,8281,082
201420,001-298-745-1.265,6317,215-1,5841,30510629818,37118,2871,039
201320,9215,3513,4412.646,1395,2868532,2811731,86420,39420,9341,006
201218,0105,8143,9803.193,7743,4942801,1291003,7053,52517,543954
201120,8809,1405,7474.786,6202,5344,0861,4231174,8223,53315,642955

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.