New York, January 6, 2026, 19:18 EST — After-hours
- Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) shares closed up 3.2% at $56.15, after touching a fresh 52-week high.
- Copper pushed deeper into record territory on global shortage fears and policy uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.
- Traders are tracking U.S. inventory flows and the widening gap between U.S. and London benchmark prices.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc shares closed up 3.2% at $56.15 on Tuesday, after hitting $57.12 — a 52-week high — and were little changed after the bell.
The move keeps FCX stock tethered to a copper rally that is resetting price expectations for the metal used in power cables, construction and industrial equipment. Copper prices have surged above $13,000 a metric ton on shortage fears and demand tied to artificial intelligence data centres and electric vehicles. “Copper prices need to rise further to persuade miners to generate significant new production,” SP Angel analyst John Meyer said. Reuters
Copper extended the run on Tuesday, with the London Metal Exchange’s three-month contract — a global benchmark — hitting a peak of $13,387.50 a ton, Reuters reported. Morgan Stanley said supply disruptions that marked 2025 were continuing into 2026 and highlighted rising U.S. copper imports that have kept other markets tight.
Supply worries have been sharpened by mine disruptions and the prospect that U.S. import tariffs could reshape flows of refined metal. For Freeport, the focus is split between price leverage — higher copper can lift cash flow quickly — and operational risk at key assets when the market is tight.
The stock’s latest leg higher follows a sharp run-up to start the week. On Monday, Freeport surged 4.78% to close at $54.41 on higher-than-average volume, a MarketWatch report showed, as copper-linked miners drew fresh buying interest.
Traders are also watching how much copper is sitting in U.S. warehouses and how long it stays there. Argus said CME warehouse totals have climbed above 453,000 tonnes as tariff talk pulled cathodes into the United States, a build that can leave other markets tight while also raising questions about what happens if inventory starts to move back out.
But the rally comes with clear tripwires. A sharp pullback in copper — whether from softer demand data, a shift in policy signals on tariffs, or a change in the supply picture — would likely test FCX’s recent gains, given how closely the stock tracks the metal.
Freeport’s next company-specific date is its dividend timetable: it declared a $0.15-per-share quarterly dividend payable on Feb. 2 to shareholders of record on Jan. 15. The Jan. 15 record date is the next marker on many investors’ calendars.
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