Over the past few years, the notion of Murphy’s law comes to mind for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), the world’s largest copper miner. In that time, the company has witnessed: A sharp drop in copper prices as China worked off overbuilt stockpiles A similar plunge in gold prices (which accounts for roughly a fourth of the company’s revenues) A mining accident that took 28 lives in Indonesia A pair of major acquisitions in the oil and gas industry that were greeted by a chorus of boos from shareholders and… Read More
Over the past few years, the notion of Murphy’s law comes to mind for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), the world’s largest copper miner. In that time, the company has witnessed: A sharp drop in copper prices as China worked off overbuilt stockpiles A similar plunge in gold prices (which accounts for roughly a fourth of the company’s revenues) A mining accident that took 28 lives in Indonesia A pair of major acquisitions in the oil and gas industry that were greeted by a chorus of boos from shareholders and analysts A rapid spike in the debt load to above $20 billion that raised alarms at a time when revenue and cash flow forecasts were being trimmed The net result, this stock has lost nearly 40% of its value over the past 2 1/2 years, even as the S&P 500 has moved higher by a similar amount. The fact that this stock recently tested support… Read More