Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Rallies as Grasberg Restart Plan Offsets Class-Action Fallout

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) is firmly back in the spotlight today. Shares of the copper and gold producer are trading higher after the company laid out a detailed restart plan for its Grasberg operations in Indonesia, even as fresh securities class‑action announcements keep legal risks front and center.

As of early U.S. afternoon trading on Tuesday, FCX was changing hands around $40–41, up roughly 4–6% on the day, with pre‑market trading earlier showing gains of about 5%. ^[1]

The move follows Freeport’s official update on restart plans for the Grasberg minerals district, a scheduled conference call with investors, new guidance on the financial impact of September’s fatal mud‑rush incident, and fresh law‑firm notices urging shareholders to consider joining a class‑action lawsuit. ^[2]

Key takeaways for 18 November 2025

Grasberg restart plan: Freeport plans a phased restart of the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine starting in Q2 2026, targeting 2026 copper and gold output roughly in line with 2025 levels (about 1.0 billion lbs of copper and 0.9 million oz of gold). Production is then expected to ramp so that 2027‑2029 average annual output reaches ~1.6 billion lbs of copper and 1.3 million oz of gold from the district. ^[3]
Safety and operations: The restart plan follows a September 8 mud‑rush incident at Grasberg Block Cave in which seven workers were killed and operations were halted; production has since resumed at unaffected underground mines (Deep Mill Level Zone and Big Gossan) while remediation work continues at the Block Cave. ^[4]
Earnings and outlook: Freeport’s Q3 2025 results beat expectations, with revenue of about $6.97 billion and EPS of $0.50, helped by strong copper prices and cost control. Management still expects 2025 sales of ~3.5 billion lbs of copper, 1.05 million oz of gold and 82 million lbs of molybdenum, but warns the Grasberg incident will have a “significant impact” on Q4 2025 and 2026 results. ^[5]
Legal overhang: At least two law firms — Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP and Robbins LLP — have highlighted an existing securities class‑action lawsuit alleging that Freeport misled investors about safety at Grasberg before the accident and subsequent 20%‑plus share‑price drop. These remain allegations that the company has not admitted and which the court has not adjudicated. ^[6]
Institutional positioning: New 13F filings show mixed institutional activity: Creative Planning increased its FCX stake by 16.3% in Q2 to over 327,000 shares, while Cornerstone Advisors sharply reduced its holdings. ^[7]
Macro backdrop: The update lands against a structurally bullish copper backdrop, with global grid investment and AI‑driven data‑center expansion projected to push copper demand meaningfully higher into 2030, even as supply remains tight. ^[8]

FCX stock today: Rally on restart clarity and copper narrative

Freeport-McMoRan is one of today’s stronger names in the S&P 500. A Reuters market note reported that FCX shares were up about 5% to $40.8 in pre‑market trading, after the company set out its new Grasberg plan. ^[9]

Later in the morning, a BNK Invest update on S&P 500 movers flagged FCX as one of the index’s best‑performing components, up around 5.7% in early trading. ^[10] A German market wrap likewise highlighted the stock as “rising strongly,” citing an intraday gain of just over 5%. ^[11]

Taken together with the live quote (around $40.7, +4–5% at the time of writing) and roughly $59 billion in market cap, the move looks like a relief rally after a brutal September–October slide tied to Grasberg disruptions and safety concerns, rather than a full re‑rating of the company. ^[12]

Inside Freeport’s Grasberg restart plan

What was announced today

In an official press release and accompanying 8‑K filing, Freeport outlined a phased remediation and restart strategy for the Grasberg minerals district in Central Papua, Indonesia. ^[13]

Key points:

Operations already restarted (late October):
- Production has resumed at the Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ) and Big Gossan underground mines, which were not directly affected by the mud rush. ^[14]
Grasberg Block Cave restart (Q2 2026):
- Remediation work is underway to support a phased restart of the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine starting in the second quarter of 2026. ^[15]
Production profile:
- For 2026, Freeport expects PT Freeport Indonesia’s copper and gold output from Grasberg to be roughly in line with 2025 estimates – around 1.0 billion pounds of copper and 0.9 million ounces of gold. ^[16]
- As the ramp‑up continues, the company projects average annual output of about 1.6 billion pounds of copper and 1.3 million ounces of gold over 2027–2029. ^[17]

CEO Kathleen Quirk emphasized that the company has “incorporated the learnings from the recent tragic incident” into its updated mine plans and that restoring large‑scale, low‑cost production will be done in a “safe, efficient and responsible manner”, with safety prioritized above all else. ^[18]

The September mud‑rush incident

Today’s update cannot be separated from the September 8 mud‑rush at Grasberg Block Cave, where about 800,000 metric tons of wet material flooded the underground workings, trapping a crew and leading to the deaths of seven workers. ^[19]

Following the accident:

Freeport suspended mining at the affected operation and later declared force majeure on some contracts, contributing to a sharp rally in copper prices and a double‑digit percentage drop in FCX shares in late September. ^[20]
An investigation by Indonesian authorities has since concluded, with the company receiving safety and operational improvement recommendations from the government. ^[21]

Management now expects the incident to have a “significant impact” on Q4 2025 and full‑year 2026 operating and financial results, even with the planned ramp‑up. ^[22]

Earnings, guidance and what the numbers say

Although today’s headlines are dominated by Grasberg, Freeport is also in the middle of its Q3 2025 earnings cycle and follow‑up investor communications.

Q3 2025: Beat on revenue and EPS

Third‑quarter results, originally released on October 23 and revisited in new coverage today, showed that Freeport outperformed Wall Street expectations: ^[23]

Revenue: $6.97 billion vs. consensus ~$6.78 billion
EPS: $0.50 vs. consensus ~$0.41

Analysts attribute the beat largely to:

Higher realized copper prices, as global copper markets tightened.
Disciplined cost control and solid performance from U.S. and South American operations, which partially offset lost output from Indonesia. ^[24]

A scheduled webcast and conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET today is dedicated to reviewing the Grasberg incident, explaining the new mine plan and updating Freeport’s multi‑year outlook. ^[25]

2025–2026 volumes, cash flow and capex

A separate earnings‑focused note today highlights that Freeport is maintaining its 2025 sales outlook despite the disruption, but expects heightened costs and a weaker 2026 profile: ^[26]

For full‑year 2025, management projects:

Copper sales: ~3.5 billion pounds
Gold sales: ~1.05 million ounces
Molybdenum sales: ~82 million pounds

Financially, Freeport is guiding toward:

2025 operating cash flow: approx. $5.5 billion
2025 capex: roughly $3.9 billion (excluding downstream projects)
2026 capex: around $4.1 billion, again excluding downstream projects. ^[27]

The company explicitly states that the Grasberg incident will have a significant impact on Q4 2025 and 2026 earnings, consistent with the cautious tone in today’s restart press release and 8‑K filing. ^[28]

Class‑action headlines: what’s being alleged

Even as the stock bounces today, legal risks have become more visible. Two prominent plaintiff firms have issued new notices over the last 24 hours reminding investors of an existing securities class‑action lawsuit.

BFA Law complaint

Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP’s Business Wire release describes a case titled Reed v. Freeport-McMoRan Inc., et al. filed in U.S. federal court in Arizona. ^[29]

According to the complaint (summarized in the release):

Freeport allegedly overstated its commitment to safety, particularly at Grasberg Block Cave, where it publicly highlighted the use of technology and behavioral‑safety programs.
The suit claims the company failed to disclose unsafe mining practices that allegedly made a fatal incident more likely.
It points to a series of share‑price drops in September after the company announced the suspension of Grasberg operations, confirmed fatalities, cut sales guidance and media reports questioned whether the event was preventable. ^[30]

Investors who bought FCX shares between February 2022 and September 24, 2025, are part of the proposed class, with a lead‑plaintiff deadline in January 2026. ^[31]

Robbins LLP reminder

Robbins LLP issued its own shareholder notice yesterday, summarizing similar allegations — namely that Freeport: ^[32]

Did not adequately ensure safety at Grasberg Block Cave.
Failed to disclose the heightened risk of worker fatalities and associated regulatory and litigation exposure.

Both firms’ releases stress that these are allegations, not proven facts. Freeport’s own filings include robust cautionary language about operational risks, particularly in underground mining, and forward‑looking statements around the restart plan. ^[33]

Important: This article is not legal advice. Investors who want to understand their rights in the litigation should speak with a qualified securities attorney, not rely on news coverage alone.

How big money is positioning: mixed but engaged

Alongside today’s operational headlines, new 13F disclosures paint a nuanced picture of how institutions are treating FCX:

Creative Planning boosted its position in Freeport by 16.3% in Q2, ending the quarter with 327,361 shares valued at about $14.2 million. ^[34]
Cornerstone Advisors LLC, by contrast, cut its FCX holdings sharply in the same period, according to a separate filing summary released today. ^[35]

Other recent reports have highlighted additional accumulation and trimming by various asset managers, suggesting no clear “one‑way” institutional view but rather active repositioning around the Grasberg incident, copper prices and legal risk. ^[36]

Copper fundamentals: a long‑term tailwind behind FCX

One reason investors are keenly focused on Freeport is that it sits at the intersection of energy transition metals and the AI‑driven data‑center boom.

Recent analysis from Reuters and others notes that: ^[37]

Global power‑grid investment is expected to exceed $400 billion in 2025, with copper‑intensive grid expansion alone pushing copper demand higher through 2030.
Data centers — especially those built for AI workloads — are significantly more power‑hungry than traditional facilities and use much more copper in power distribution, cooling and high‑density connectivity.
Some industry estimates suggest AI‑related data centers could add hundreds of thousands of tons of copper demand annually by the end of the decade.

The International Energy Agency separately projects that electricity demand from data centers could more than double by 2030, a shift that indirectly supports copper demand through new transmission, substations and backup systems. ^[38]

For Freeport, whose portfolio includes massive resources in Grasberg (Indonesia), Morenci (Arizona) and Cerro Verde (Peru), the combination of structurally rising copper demand and limited new supply is a major strategic tailwind — provided it can operate safely and reliably. ^[39]

Analyst sentiment and valuation snapshot

Analyst commentary around FCX has turned more cautious since the September accident but remains broadly constructive on the long‑term story:

A Smartkarma earnings note today highlights 17 “buy”, 6 “hold” and 1 “sell” ratings on the stock, calling Freeport’s overall long‑term outlook “balanced” with positive momentum. ^[40]
A recent article from a major research platform downgraded FCX from “buy” to “hold”, citing operational uncertainty at Grasberg and a fair‑value estimate near $42 per share — close to where the stock trades after today’s bounce. ^[41]

With the dividend yield hovering around 0.6% and the market treating Grasberg as both a world‑class asset and a source of volatility, FCX is increasingly viewed as a high‑beta play on copper prices and infrastructure demand. ^[42]

What to watch next

For investors tracking Freeport-McMoRan in the days and weeks ahead, several catalysts stand out:

Details from today’s conference call
Slides and commentary from the November 18 webcast — including updated mine plans, capex phasing and safety measures — will be crucial for refining any valuation view. ^[43]
Further Grasberg updates
Markets will watch for any changes in the restart timeline, additional regulatory requirements from Indonesian authorities, or new information on remediation progress and insurance recoveries. ^[44]
Copper price and macro backdrop
Copper remains sensitive to China’s growth, U.S. interest‑rate expectations and the pace of AI‑data‑center build‑out and grid upgrades. Structural forecasts still point to potential deficits later in the decade, which would be supportive for high‑quality producers like Freeport. ^[45]
Progress (and setbacks) in the class‑action litigation
Court rulings on motions to dismiss, any settlement talks, or further investigative findings around the September incident could change how investors price legal and reputational risk.

Bottom line

On 18 November 2025, Freeport-McMoRan has given investors exactly what the market wanted in the near term: clarity on Grasberg’s path back to full production and confirmation that its long‑term copper story is intact. At the same time, the company now faces a prolonged period of legal scrutiny and elevated operational risk, with Q4 2025 and 2026 earnings likely to bear the scars of this year’s tragedy.

For anyone following FCX, this remains a high‑risk, high‑leverage way to express a view on copper — and, increasingly, on whether big mining houses can deliver the metals the energy transition and AI era demand without compromising on safety and social license.

This article is for information only and is not financial or legal advice. Always do your own research and consider consulting a qualified professional before making investment decisions.

Freeport McMoRan CEO Kathleen Quirk: We provide 70% of the copper mined in the U.S.