Is Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Pricing Make Sense After Strong Multi‑Year Share Gains

If you are looking at Freeport-McMoRan and wondering whether the current price really reflects its value, this article will walk through what the numbers are actually saying.
The stock last closed at US£60.67, with total returns of 0.7% over 7 days, 7.3% over 30 days, 16.8% year to date, 60.9% over 1 year, 49.3% over 3 years and 108.1% over 5 years. This helps frame the context for any valuation work you do today.
Recent news around Freeport-McMoRan has kept attention on the stock, as investors continue to track how its business fundamentals relate to the share price. These headlines provide important context for understanding why the market is pricing the company where it is right now.
On our framework of 6 valuation checks, Freeport-McMoRan scores a 2 out of 6 [1].

Next we will look at what different valuation methods say about that score and why a more complete way of thinking about valuation, which we will come to at the end, can be helpful.

Freeport-McMoRan scores just 2/6 on our valuation checks. See what other red flags we found in the full valuation breakdown [2]. Advertisement

Approach 1: Freeport-McMoRan Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

A Discounted Cash Flow, or DCF, model projects a company's future cash flows and then discounts them back to today, aiming to estimate what the entire stream of those cash flows is worth in current dollars.

For Freeport-McMoRan, the model used is a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity approach based on cash flow projections. The latest twelve month Free Cash Flow is about £678.0m. Analyst inputs extend out to 2030, with projected Free Cash Flow of £8.6b in that year, and Simply Wall St extrapolates additional years beyond the analyst horizon using its own assumptions.

Each future cash flow is discounted to today. For example, the projected 2026 Free Cash Flow of £3.8b is treated as £3.6b in present value terms, and this process continues through 2035. Adding these together yields an estimated intrinsic value of about £85.21 per share.

Compared with the recent share price of £60.67, the DCF output suggests Freeport-McMoRan trades at about a 28.8% discount to this intrinsic value, which indicates that the stock may be undervalued on this model. Result: UNDERVALUED Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Freeport-McMoRan is undervalued by 28.8%.

Track this in your watchlist [3] or portfolio [4], or discover 52 more high quality undervalued stocks [5].

FCX Discounted Cash Flow as at Feb 2026

Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for Freeport-McMoRan.[6]

Approach 2: Freeport-McMoRan Price vs Earnings

For a profitable company like Freeport-McMoRan, the P/E ratio is a useful way to think about value because it links what you pay per share to the earnings generated per share. It is a quick way to see how much the market is paying for each dollar of current earnings. What counts as a "normal" P/E depends on what investors expect for future growth and how much risk they see in those earnings.

Higher expected growth or lower perceived risk can justify a higher P/E, while lower growth expectations or higher risk usually point to a lower multiple. Freeport-McMoRan currently trades on a P/E of 39.53x, compared with the Metals and Mining industry average of about 26.84x and a peer group average of 28.69x. Simply Wall St also calculates a Fair Ratio of 28.85x, which is the P/E level it would expect given factors such as earnings growth, profit margins, industry, market cap and company specific risks.

This Fair Ratio can be more informative than a simple peer or industry comparison because it adjusts for those company specific characteristics instead of assuming all miners deserve the same multiple. With the current P/E at 39.53x versus a Fair Ratio of 28.85x, Freeport-McMoRan screens as trading above that fair range on this measure. Result: OVERVALUED

NYSE:FCX P/E Ratio as at Feb 2026

P/E ratios tell one story, but what if the real opportunity lies elsewhere? Start investing in legacies, not executives.

Discover our 22 top founder-led companies [7].

Upgrade Your Decision Making: Choose your Freeport-McMoRan Narrative

Earlier we mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation, so let us introduce you to Narratives, which are simply your story about a company linked directly to your own numbers for fair value, future revenue, earnings and margins. On Simply Wall St, Narratives live in the Community page and make it easy for you to connect your view of Freeport-McMoRan's business, such as copper demand, cost structure or project pipeline, to a forecast and then to a fair value that you can compare with today's share price. That comparison between your Fair Value and the current Price can then guide your decision making around whether you want to buy, hold or sell, and your Narrative automatically refreshes when new information like earnings reports or major news is added to the platform.

For example, one Freeport-McMoRan Narrative on the Community page may assume a relatively high fair value based on optimistic revenue and margin assumptions, while another may point to a lower fair value using more cautious estimates and a different view of the company's risks. Do you think there's more to the story for Freeport-McMoRan? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying![8]

NYSE:FCX 1-Year Stock Price Chart

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data.

Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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References

^ 2 out of 6 (www.simplywall.st)
^ full valuation breakdown (www.simplywall.st)
^ watchlist (simplywall.st)
^ portfolio (simplywall.st)
^ 52 more high quality undervalued stocks (simplywall.st)
^ Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for Freeport-McMoRan. (www.simplywall.st)
^ Start investing in legacies, not executives.

Discover our 22 top founder-led companies (simplywall.st)
^ Head over to our Community to see what others are saying! (simplywall.st)
^ Explore Now for Free (simplywall.st)
^ Get in touch (feedback.simplywall.st)
^ [email protected] (simplywall.st)