These are good times for copper producers. Demand for their product is decidedly robust, particularly for copper coil or copper plate or the ultra-pure copper broken up literally into atoms to make tiny, high-speed computer chips. Or all the wiring and related equipment used in data centers. Copper is trading at $6.38 per pound in New York and $13,895 per ton in London, less than 2% below all-time highs reached in May. The price is up more than 700%, whether in New York or London, since the end of 1999, Macrotrends noted.Freeport-McMoRan second-quarter results better than expectedFreeport-McMoRan (FCX), the biggest U.S.-based copper miner, reported a 28% profit gain in the second quarter on July 23, despite a 7.3% decline in revenue, Barron’s confirmed.The Phoenix, Ariz., company’s shares were down 2.6% on July 23, but are up 24% so far in 2026.Related: The ultimate AI proxy trade isn’t a tech stock—It’s something more humbleThe company operates the giant Grasberg mine in Indonesia and has mines in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as Peru and Chile in South America. Freeport-McMoRan is the largest global producer of molybdenum (used to make high-strength steel), and the company notes that Grasberg is one of the largest single gold deposits in the world.Copper is a uniquely ubiquitous mineral, believed to have been present on Earth since the planet’s early formation. And it has proven useful throughout the ages, starting as a decorative metal, becoming a weapon, and now being prized for its ability to transmit information and power.
Copper-alloyed coils at a tube plant in Menden, Germany.Sascha Schuermann / AFP / Getty Images
Copper: You gotta have itThe thing is that the world needs copper just about everywhere:To expand the electrification of the world.To provide the piping used in plumbing for new housing and commercial buildings.To power all the data centers springing up around the globe. Google-parent Alphabet spent $44.9 billion in the second quarter and raised its full-year spending estimate to $195 billion to $205 billion, according to Business Insider. That’s more than double its 2025 spending.Data centers are massive consumers of copper, at a rate of about 25 to 47 metric tons per megawatt of power. So, for a data center expected to need 100 megawatts of power, the required copper could approach 2,500 to 5,000 tons, a Standard & Poor’s report revealed.Alphabet needs copper. So do Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia. The list goes on.And that’s music to the ears of Freeport and competitors such as Australia’s BHP and Chile’s state-owned Codelco, Investing News Network reported.It’s also good news for the top copper-producing countries, which include Chile, Australia, Peru, Russia, and the United States.More natural resources BofA sees lost year taking shape for goldExxon Mobil’s future rests on massive play (it isn’t Venezuela)Weekly Roundup: What We’re Watching as Markets Get JiggyAre FCX shares overbought?The Wall Street consensus estimate was that Freeport-McMoRan would report 62 cents per share in earnings, Barron’s indicated, compared with 54 cents a year ago. Revenue fell to $7.03 billion from $7.6 billion a year ago.Some analysts believe Freeport’s shares are overbought and will come down a bit. That assumes copper prices and demand will fall. S&P Global is skeptical of the idea, as I reported previously. Their estimate, released in January 2026, is that global demand will jump from 28 million metric tons to 42 million tons by 2040. That’s a 50% gain.Related: Morgan Stanley breaks from the crowd on the U.S. economy