BHP Profit Soars 30% While Emissions Rise, Targets Net Zero With Up to 5M Carbon Credits

UBS reports diversified miners are focusing on copper expansion for higher valuations. The bank rates Anglo American (£46 target) and Teck Resources (C$105 target) as buys, citing portfolio restructuring and earnings beats. Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX, $77 target) is also a buy due to Grasberg mine recovery. BHP, Rio Tinto, and Glencore are rated neutral with respective targets of £29.50, £73, and 570 pence. Shares of these companies showed mixed movements in afternoon trading.

BHP reported record copper sales and a 27% rise in pre-tax income to $32.9bn, with copper contributing $18bn. CEO Brandon Craig highlighted growth prospects for copper and coking coal. Dividends totaled $8.7bn, and former CEO Mike Henry's pay rose 13% to $10.3m. BHP faces challenges in coking coal due to Chinese steel production concerns and nickel business decline.

BHP Group reported that copper accounted for 54% of its underlying EBITDA in fiscal 2026, with plans to grow copper-equivalent production by 5% annually through fiscal 2035. The company approved $500M for a new concentrator at Escondida, expecting 230,000-270,000 tons of annual copper capacity. BHP aims to increase its Operational Excellence Index to 65 and achieve $650M in EBITDA from technology initiatives by 2027. Capital expenditure is expected to average $11B annually, with a focus on coppe

Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) and BHP Group (BHP) are involved in a $4.3B silver stream deal for BHP's Antamina mine. WPM CEO Haytham Hodaly expects similar large deals annually, driven by $2.7B annual free cash flow. Veteran investor Rick Rule highlights a $250B financing gap in mining, favoring streaming companies. McEwen Inc. (MUX) founder Rob McEwen criticizes the model for reducing operator resilience.

Australia's ASX200 rose 0.13% to 9,065.5 as US bond intervention boosted precious metals. Gold surged, lifting miners like Evolution and Newmont. BHP gained 2.2%, while Fortescue fell 0.6% after reporting a profit drop. Financials declined, with CommBank down 2.1%. Super Retail soared 16% on sales growth. The AUD strengthened slightly to 71.15 US cents.

BHP Group (BHP) reported that copper overtook iron ore as its largest earnings contributor, with copper generating $18.19B EBITDA vs. iron ore's $14.53B. Profit rose 30% to $13.2B, beating estimates. BHP plans to allocate over half of its $11B annual capital spending to copper growth, aiming for 40% production increase by 2035. Copper prices and byproducts drove the profit increase, but iron ore remains a key cash flow source.