Materials Shares Weaker as Fears of a Slowing Economy Emerge — Materials Roundup
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Materials sector shares declined due to economic slowdown fears, high interest rates, and surging oil prices. However, Freeport-McMoRan beat Q2 earnings expectations on favorable copper pricing, while Cleveland-Cliffs reported higher revenue despite a slight adjusted loss, driven by improving steel demand.
Shares of companies in the materials sector fell as higher interest rates, worries about AI spending and surging oil prices dampen the outlook for manufacturing.
Freeport-McMoRan's 2Q earnings outpaced expectations, as it received a boost from favorable pricing. The copper mining heavyweight reports adjusted earnings of 74 cents a share, up from 54 cents a year ago and above Wall Street's expectations. Revenue fell 7% to $7.03 billion from a year earlier, but still beat the analyst consensus, according to FactSet. Copper sales totaled 710 million pounds, bolstering financials and coming in above Freeport's April guidance. The average realized copper price increased to $6.17 a pound, up from $4.54 a year ago. Sales of gold totaled 123,000 ounces, down from 522,000 a year ago. However, Freeport also benefited from a 37% increase in the average realized price of gold per ounce.
Cleveland-Cliffs reported higher 2Q revenue as steel demand continued to improve despite global tensions. Consolidated revenue rose to $5.23 billion from $4.93 billion a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a 2Q loss of 20 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 21 cents a share.
Write to Patrick Sheridan at patrick.sheridan@wsj.com
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July 23, 2026 18:08 ET (22:08 GMT)
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