Sifting through countless of stocks in the Metals & Mining industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. or Southern Copper Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. Its assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. The company was formerly known as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and changed its name to Freeport-McMoRan Inc. in July 2014. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Mexico, the United States, Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Other American countries. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of copper-molybdenum concentrates and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of copper, molybdenum, zinc, silver, gold and lead. It operates the Toquepala and Cuajone open-pit mines, smelter, and refinery in Peru; La Caridad, an open-pit copper mine, as well as copper ore concentrator; and SX-EW plant, a smelter, refinery, and rod plant in Mexico. The company also operates Buenavista, an open-pit copper mine, as well as copper concentrators and operating SX-EW plants in Mexico. In addition, it operates underground mines that produce zinc, lead, copper, silver, and gold; coal mine; and zinc refinery. The company has interests in 164,805 hectares and 505,788 hectares of concessions in Peru and Mexico; and 98,634 hectares and 28,453 hectares of exploration concessions in Argentina and Chile. Southern Copper Corporation was formerly known as Southern Peru Copper Corp. and changed its name to Southern Copper Corporation in July 1996. The company was incorporated in 1952 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Southern Copper Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corporation.

Latest Metals & Mining and Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Southern Copper Corporation Stock News

As of May 12, 2026, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. had a $94.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Metals & Mining median of $2.3 million. Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s stock is up 29.9% in 2026, up 8.4% in the previous five trading days and up 74.41% in the past year.

Currently, Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 34.9. Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $26.4 billion with a 10.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 8.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.610 per share for the current fiscal year. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.

As of May 12, 2026, Southern Copper Corporation had a $158.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 98th percentile of all stocks. Southern Copper Corporation’s stock is up 32.7% in 2026, up 2.6% in the previous five trading days and up 120.4% in the past year.

Currently, Southern Copper Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 32.5. Southern Copper Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $14.5 billion with a 34.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 36.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.196 per share for the current fiscal year. Southern Copper Corporation currently has a 2.1% dividend yield.

How We Compare Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Freeport-McMoRan Inc.	FCX	D
Southern Copper Corporation	SCCO	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a Value Score of 25, which is Expensive. Southern Copper Corporation has a Value Score of 15, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Freeport-McMoRan Inc. or Southern Copper Corporation has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Freeport-McMoRan Inc. or Southern Copper Corporation is the better investment when it comes to value.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Freeport-McMoRan Inc.	FCX	A
Southern Copper Corporation	SCCO	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong. Southern Copper Corporation has a Growth Score of 64, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Southern Copper Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Freeport-McMoRan Inc.	FCX	D
Southern Copper Corporation	SCCO	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 40, which is Negative. Southern Copper Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 53, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Freeport-McMoRan Inc. or Southern Copper Corporation has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Freeport-McMoRan Inc. or Southern Copper Corporation is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation Grades

In addition to Value, Estimate Revisions and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. or Southern Copper Corporation Stock?

Overall, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. stock has a Value Score of 25, Growth Score of 83 and Estimate Revisions Score of 40.

Southern Copper Corporation stock has a Value Score of 15, Growth Score of 64 and Estimate Revisions Score of 53.

Comparing Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Southern Copper Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.