FCX vs TGB: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of November 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: TGB is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FCX and TGB share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FCX and TGB exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is one of the world's largest publicly traded copper producers. It mines and sells copper, with significant byproduct gold and molybdenum, from large operations including the Grasberg district in Indonesia (among the biggest copper and gold deposits in the world) and major mines in North and South America. Copper is the company's core driver, and copper demand is closely tied to global growth, construction, the electrical grid, electric vehicles, and renewable-energy buildout, all of which are copper-intensive. As a commodity producer, Freeport's revenue and profits swing with copper and gold prices, which it does not control. A fatal mud rush at the Grasberg Block Cave mine in September 2025 disrupted Indonesian output, and quarterly revenue dipped to about $5.6 billion in Q4 2025 before recovering to about $7.0 billion in Q2 2026, with net income near $984 million that quarter. Trailing-twelve-month revenue is about $25.9 billion and net income about $2.9 billion. Its third-quarter 2026 production update was described as broadly in line with expectations, with some Indonesian gold output pushed into the fourth quarter. The company has also pursued initiatives to recover additional copper from existing leach stockpiles to add lower-cost production. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Freeport is widely viewed as a leveraged way to invest in the long-term electrification and energy-transition thesis through the metal that wiring, motors, and grids depend on.

Full FCX guide

Trekor Metals, which trades as TGB on NYSE American and as TKO in Toronto and London, is a copper producer with two operating assets it owns outright. Gibraltar, near Williams Lake in British Columbia, is one of the largest open-pit copper mines in Canada and produced about 34 million pounds of copper and roughly 0.4 million pounds of molybdenum in the third quarter of 2026 (up about 12% from the second quarter), after a first-quarter total operating cost around US$2.63 per pound. Gibraltar's 2026 copper guidance was raised to 115 to 120 million pounds from 110 to 115 million. Florence Copper in Pinal County, Arizona is the newer and more consequential asset: instead of digging and milling ore, it pumps a weak acid solution through a permeable oxide deposit and recovers copper from the returning solution through a solvent-extraction and electrowinning plant, producing LME grade A cathode on site. Florence poured its first copper in early 2026, produced about 5.2 million pounds in the second quarter and about 7 million pounds in the third, and declared commercial production on 6 October 2026. Its full-year guidance was lowered in October to 25 to 28 million pounds (from 30 to 35 million) against a design capacity near 85 million pounds, because wellfield expansion is running about three months behind the original plan, even though the solvent-extraction and electrowinning plant has run at design rate for several days. The company also holds the undeveloped Yellowhead, Aley and New Prosperity projects in British Columbia. The Taseko name was retired on 25 June 2026 after a shareholder vote, with the ticker unchanged.

Full TGB guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• FCX drivers: Copper and the energy transition; Tier-one assets and the Grasberg recovery.
• TGB drivers: The Florence ramp is the swing factor; Copper price and the US premium.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Freeport is a commodity producer, so its revenue and profits swing sharply with copper and gold prices, which it does not control and which fall in global slowdowns. For TGB, the dominant risk is that Florence's in-situ recovery does not scale as modelled: well-field hydrology, solution grade decay and recovery rates at commercial scale are still being demonstrated, and the October 2026 guidance cut (to 25 to 28 million pounds for 2026, with the wellfield about three months behind plan) shows that a shortfall would hit both cash flow and the growth narrative embedded in the share price.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick FCX if you believe its drivers more; TGB if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FCX and TGB guides.

FCX. Freeport's valuation is inherently cyclical because earnings move with copper and gold prices the company does not control. Today the trailing P/E near 35 looks high because Grasberg disruption depressed recent earnings, while the forward P/E near 16 assumes EPS climbs to about $3.19 in 2026 and $4.33 in 2027. Q3 2026 results are due October 27, with consensus near $0.83 per share on about $7.4 billion of revenue. Figures are approximate and move sharply with commodity prices; verify current numbers before relying on them.

TGB. Trailing EBITDA of roughly $278 million set against only about $16 million of trailing net income is mostly depletion, interest on the 2030 notes and the cost of starting Florence, which is why the trailing P/E is meaningless and the forward multiple near 10x is doing all the work. That forward number assumes Florence reaches design rate in early 2027 and copper holds near current levels, so it is a forecast rather than an observation. Third-quarter results are expected around 11 November 2026, with consensus near $0.18 of EPS on roughly $334 million of revenue.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): FCX shows revenue (ttm) ~$25.9 billion (latest quarter down ~7% YoY), net income (ttm / q2 2026) ~$2.9 billion / ~$984 million, eps (q2 2026 vs estimate) ~$0.74 vs ~$0.62, margins (gross / operating) ~38% / ~33%; TGB shows revenue (ttm) ~$985M (Q2 2026 +~185% yoy), q2 2026 revenue / adj. eps ~$331M / $0.11 vs $0.12 est., margins (gross / operating / net) ~47% / ~22% / ~2%, net income (ttm) ~$16M (~$0.02 per share).

FCX and TGB are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FCX and TGB exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.