Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) Stock Price & How to Invest

Southern Copper (SCCO) is one of the largest integrated copper producers in the world, with operations concentrated in Peru and Mexico. The company mines, smelts, and refines copper and produces meaningful byproduct volumes of molybdenum, zinc, silver, and other metals, which help offset costs. Southern Copper is known for very large, long-life ore reserves and among the lowest cash costs in the industry, a structural advantage that lets it stay profitable across much of the commodity cycle. It is majority owned by Grupo Mexico, a large Mexican mining and infrastructure conglomerate, which influences capital allocation and strategy. The investment case is closely tied to the price of copper, a metal central to electrification, electric vehicles, renewable power, grid buildout, and construction. Southern Copper pursues a pipeline of expansion and greenfield projects to grow output over time, though large mining projects carry permitting, environmental, and social-license risk, particularly in Peru. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with primary operations in Latin America, SCCO is a high-dividend, commodity-leveraged miner whose results rise and fall with copper prices. Results in 2026 show the price leverage clearly. Second-quarter 2026 revenue was about $4.29 billion and net income about $1.67 billion, with EPS of $1.99 against a $1.92 estimate, the fourth straight quarterly beat. Volumes went the other way: copper production fell 3.5% to 230,662 tons in the quarter as Peru output dropped 12% on lower grades and recoveries at Toquepala and Cuajone, and 2026 guidance calls for about 917,000 tons, down roughly 4% from 2025. Copper averaged about $6.53 per pound in the third quarter and reached an all-time high of about $6.93 in September. Third-quarter results are expected around October 22, 2026, with consensus near $1.93 per share on about $4.39 billion of revenue.

Southern Copper's earnings and dividend swing with the price of copper, a volatile commodity sensitive to global growth, China demand, and the dollar, so a copper downturn hits results directly. Operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, exposing the company to political, regulatory, tax, permitting, environmental, and social-license risk, and Peru in particular has seen protests and disruptions around mining projects. Majority ownership by Grupo Mexico means minority shareholders have limited control over capital allocation. Large expansion projects can face delays and cost overruns. Currency, energy-cost, and byproduct-price movements also affect margins. As with any single-commodity miner, SCCO is cyclical and not defensive. Valuation is now a risk in its own right: at about 30 times trailing earnings and roughly 11 times sales as of October 16, 2026, the stock prices in sustained record copper prices while production is declining, analysts' consensus rating is underperform with an average target near $177, below the share price, and 2027 earnings estimates are slightly lower than 2026.

17 analysts publish price targets on SCCO, averaging $176.73 against a $200.51 price as of October 2026, or -11.9%. The published targets run from $139.43 to $275.00, a wide spread, and the ratings split 1 buy, 6 hold, 11 sell. Over the last six months there have been 11 raises and 0 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full SCCO forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Southern Copper Corporation. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Low-cost, long-life reserves. Southern Copper holds some of the largest copper reserves in the industry and operates at among the lowest cash costs, helped by byproduct credits from molybdenum, silver, and zinc. The most optimistic published target, $275.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Southern Copper's earnings and dividend swing with the price of copper, a volatile commodity sensitive to global growth, China demand, and the dollar, so a copper downturn hits results directly. The most pessimistic target, $139.43, is roughly what SCCO is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on SCCO, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Yes. Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) has had 8 share splits in the last 10 years:

• 1005:1000 on August 9, 2024, so every share held became 1.005 shares.
• 1006:1000 on November 6, 2024, so every share held became 1.006 shares.
• 1009:1000 on May 2, 2025, so every share held became 1.009 shares.
• 101:100 on August 15, 2025, so every share held became 1.01 shares.
• 1008:1000 on November 12, 2025, so every share held became 1.008 shares.
• 1008:1000 on February 10, 2026, so every share held became 1.008 shares.
• 101:100 on May 13, 2026, so every share held became 1.01 shares.
• 1012:1000 on August 11, 2026, so every share held became 1.012 shares.

A split changes the share count and the price per share and leaves the value of a holding unchanged. Someone holding $1,000 of SCCO the day before the 1012:1000 split held $1,000 the day after, in more shares at a proportionally lower price. Historical prices from before the date are normally shown split-adjusted, which is why a long-run chart shows no cliff.

Splits matter mainly because they make older price figures confusing to compare by hand, and because a board choosing to split is usually signalling that the price has run up far enough to feel awkward for smaller buyers. Neither is a reason to buy or sell.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Southern Copper Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$15.8 billion (+41% y/y in latest quarter)
• Net income (TTM): ~$5.7 billion; Q2 2026 ~$1.67 billion
• Operating margin (TTM): ~61%
• EPS: ~$6.70 trailing; Q2 2026 $1.99 vs $1.92 expected
• P/E (trailing / forward): ~30x / ~27x
• Dividend yield: ~2.2% (~$4.40 annual rate, variable)
• Copper production guidance (2026): ~917,000 tons, down ~4% from 2025
• Market cap: ~$172 billion

At $203.66 on October 16, 2026, Southern Copper trades at about 30 times trailing and 27 times forward earnings and nearly 14 times book value, a large premium to most miners that reflects its low costs, long-life reserves and record copper prices. Because the dividend rises with earnings, the yield has fallen to about 2.2% as the share price ran ahead. Third-quarter results, expected around October 22, 2026, will show how much of the roughly $6.53 per pound average copper price offset lower volumes and rising costs.

If you want SCCO exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

These are the investment theses SCCO naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.

Other names that sit close to SCCO: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get SCCO exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (COPA, COPX, ICOP), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so SCCO sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where SCCO fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Southern Copper (SCCO) is a large, low-cost copper miner whose results track the price of copper, a metal central to electrification and the grid. In a portfolio it behaves as a commodity-leveraged, high-dividend materials holding with strong reserves and low cash costs, rather than a defensive or growth position. It carries the cyclicality of copper prices and operating risk in its Latin American mines. In 2026 record copper prices have lifted profits sharply (second-quarter EPS of $1.99, up from $1.30 in the third quarter of 2025) even as copper output declines about 4%, so the shares now trade at about 30 times trailing earnings and most analysts covering it see the price as ahead of fundamentals.

Whether SCCO is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is SCCO a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the SCCO stock forecast.

For income investors, whether SCCO pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does SCCO pay a dividend? And to weigh SCCO against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: SCCO vs FCX and SCCO vs PWR.