Freeport-Mcmoran
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 4/4
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $1.90bn | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 22.0% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.50x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 25.9% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
Passes 4 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 3/4
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 23.0% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 1.35x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 25.9% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.50x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 3 of 4. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 3/3
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 23.0% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 22.0% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 25.9% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
Passes 3 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 2/4
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 22.0% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.50x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 1.35x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Return on equity, sustained | 7 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 4/4
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 25.9% | median 15.0% | ✓ |
| Net margin | 16.5% | median 10.2% | ✓ |
| Return on capital employed | 23.0% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Operating margin, held or improving | 25.9% | 10-yr median 25.1% | ✓ |
Passes 4 of 4. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 2/2
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.29x | median 1.25x | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.50x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 1/3
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.29x | 2.00x published | ✓ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 1.15x | 1.00x published | ✗ |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 6 yrs | 10 published | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 1/1
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 23.0% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 2/2
| Measure | FCX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.50x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | 16.5% | median 10.2% | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Freeport-Mcmoran. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 39.5% | whyA single year's earnings for a commodity producer can be several times the through-cycle average. This ratio computed in a trough looks alarming and in a peak looks trivial; neither describes whether the dividend is affordable across a cycle. |
| Operating cash flow | 15.4% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 77.5% | whyNets out the capital spending producers cut in downturns — so it flatters a trough year. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 62.1 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 11 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 11/50Direction 0/30Stability 0/20
Against its own history: 77.5% this year vs 36.8% median over the prior 5. A gap this size is usually a one-off — acquisition, settlement, cyclical trough — not a dividend that stopped being funded. The rating reads the latest year; the table shows the trend.
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 77.5% |
| 2024-12-31 | 36.8% |
| 2023-12-31 | 189.7% |
| 2022-12-31 | 51.9% |
| 2021-12-31 | 5.9% |
| 2020-12-31 | 6.9% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 36.8% to 77.5%, after no clear trend before it. One year is not a trend, but it is worth knowing which direction the last one moved.
22% of the 36 materials here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.600 ÷ diluted EPS $1.52
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $865m ÷ operating cash flow $5,610m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $865m ÷ (operating cash flow $5,610m − capex $4,494m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-13 · accession 0000831259-26-000012
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: rated not covered · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Freeport-Mcmoran files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.