NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 2:22 PM ET — Regular session
- Freeport-McMoRan shares were higher in afternoon trading as copper prices bounced back.
- Copper futures climbed after a sharp prior-session drop, keeping the metal near year-end highs.
- Traders are watching whether copper holds near record levels into the turn of the year.
Freeport-McMoRan shares rose about 0.5% to $51.75 in afternoon trading on Tuesday, after swinging between $50.87 and $52.67 earlier in the session.
The move matters because Freeport’s earnings tend to track copper prices closely. When the metal rises, miners typically see higher revenue per pound sold, which can lift cash generation.
Copper’s year-end rally has put the spotlight back on supply tightness and demand tied to electrification and the buildout of power-hungry data centers. That backdrop has helped keep interest in large, liquid copper names such as Freeport.
U.S. Comex copper futures were up about 3.7% at roughly $5.77 a pound, reversing part of Monday’s decline, data showed.
On the London Metal Exchange, the day-delayed three-month copper closing price was $12,222 a metric ton, up 0.49%, according to the exchange’s published data.
Copper touched a record $12,960 per ton on Monday and is up 42% so far this year, Business Insider reported. “When the group starts to move, they all move together,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management, told the outlet, pointing to a broader metals rally that has kept copper in focus. Business Insider
Other miners were also firmer in U.S. trading, with Southern Copper up about 0.7%, BHP up about 1.3% and Rio Tinto up about 0.7%.
Copper has risen more than 35% in 2025 and has traded above $12,000 a ton this month as investors weighed shortage fears and a weaker dollar, the Guardian reported.
Phoenix-based Freeport is one of the world’s biggest publicly traded copper producers, with mining operations spanning the Americas and Indonesia. Because copper is its core business, the stock often acts as a stand-in — or proxy — for the metal’s price.
Traders said the next test is whether copper can hold near record levels after the new-year turn, with inventories and signs of Chinese demand in focus. The U.S. dollar will also matter, because a stronger dollar can weigh on commodities priced in U.S. currency.
For Freeport, the market will be looking for any fresh signals on production and cost trends as higher copper prices reset expectations for miners’ margins. Moves in copper, rather than company-specific headlines, have been setting the tone for the stock in recent sessions.
