Corporate Performance Tracker

Freeport-McMoRan Q3 2026: Atlantic Copper Opens a WEEE Recovery Plant as Copper Prices Drive Earnings

Freeport's Q3 earnings rose on copper and molybdenum prices, and its filings describe U.S. smelting and refining as running on mine output and purchased cathode. The recycling development is in Spain: Atlantic Copper inaugurated CirCular, a plant designed to process about 60,000 tons a year of pre-processed WEEE metal fractions. Continue reading below.

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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) · Copper, gold and molybdenum mining, smelting and refining
· Sector module: smelters and refiners (primary)
· Lifecycle role: copper producer and refiner; through its wholly owned Atlantic Copper subsidiary in Huelva, Spain, a new buyer of pre-processed metal fractions from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
· Period: Q3 2026 (quarter ended September 30, 2026); results of October 27, 2026 and Form 10-Q
· Figures in US dollars; copper in pounds as reported by Freeport; capacities in metric tons

1. Operational summary

Freeport is the leading copper supplier in the United States, providing approximately 70% of U.S. refined copper production through its integrated domestic mining and processing operations. It manages seven copper operations in Arizona and New Mexico and operates a smelter and rod mill in Miami, Arizona, and a refinery and rod mill in El Paso, Texas. Freeport describes its U.S. processing chain as handling copper from its own mines and purchased cathode. In Spain, its Atlantic Copper subsidiary smelts and refines copper concentrate in Huelva.

Third-quarter net income attributable to common stock rose to $1.2 billion from $0.7 billion a year earlier on higher copper and molybdenum prices, while copper sales volumes fell as the Grasberg mine in Indonesia continued its ramp-up. For the recycling market, the quarter’s development came from Atlantic Copper: on September 14, 2026, it inaugurated CirCular, a plant designed to recover copper, gold, silver, palladium, platinum and nickel from up to 60,000 tons a year of shredded non-ferrous metal fractions from obsolete electrical and electronic equipment.

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Author: David Daoud | Principal Analyst

David Daoud has researched the mainstream IT hardware market since 1996 and expanded into hardware disposition research in 2003. He has spearheaded the creation of IDC’s GRADE certification. Since then, David has been providing consulting and expert advice to companies looking to establish best practice in their IT equipment decommissioning and helped leading ITAD service providers assess demand, understand competition, and forecast what’s to come. David is currently the Principal Analyst at Compliance Standards, which focuses entirely on the end-of-life of IT equipment. He can be reached at 754-229-0095 or at ddaoud@compliance-standards.com

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