Southern Copper (SCCO)
Southern Copper (SCCO) is one of the world’s largest copper miners, with reserves and operations across Peru, Mexico, and the United States. In ETFpedia it represents the Heavy Asset Low Obsolescence (HALO) concept: its value comes out of the ground, from orebodies and smelters that no software can reproduce.
| Ticker | SCCO |
|---|---|
| Exchange | NYSE |
| Sector | Materials · Copper Mining |
| Country | United States |
| Held by ETF | Roundhill HALO ETF (LOHA) |
| Wikidata | Q1411282 |
| Last updated | 2026-06-04 |
Next event:Next earnings · Q2 2026, estimated · Date is calendar-estimated from prior years; Southern Copper has not confirmed it. Last report: Q1 2026 on 2026-04-28. (source)
Latest reported quarter:Q1 2026 (ended Mar 31, 2026) (reported2026-04-28)
Southern Copper posted record Q1 2026 net sales of $4,251.4 million, up 36.2% year over year, and record net income of $1,576.9 million, up 66.7%, as sharply higher metal prices outweighed a 4.0% dip in copper output.
| Net sales | $4,251.4M+36.2%YoY |
|---|---|
| Net income | $1,576.9M+66.7%YoY · Company record |
| Diluted EPS | $1.92+67.0%YoY |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $2,712.8M+55.4%YoY |
| Copper production | 230,544 t-4.0%YoY · Lower Peru ore grades, partly offset by La Caridad |
Revenue by segment
| Copper (mined) | 230,544 t-4.0% YoY |
|---|---|
| Molybdenum (mined) | 7,516 t-2.2% YoY |
| Zinc (mined) | 40,164 t+2.0% YoY |
| Silver (mined) | 6,047k oz+11.1% YoY |
Guidance:Full-year 2026
| Copper production | 915,400 t · 4,000 t above the planned 911,400 t |
|---|---|
| Molybdenum production | 27,400 t · +5% vs initial plan |
| Zinc production | 166,800 t · +1% vs initial plan |
| Silver production | 24.0M oz · +1.3% vs initial goal |
| Capital investment | $1,925.5M · Board-approved 2026 program |
Recent & upcoming events
- · Record Q1 2026 results.Net sales $4,251.4M (+36.2%) and record net income $1,576.9M (+66.7%); declared a $1.00 cash dividend plus a 0.0100-share stock dividend. (source)
- · Leonardo Contreras Lerdo de Tejada named CEO.Appointed CEO following the death of long-serving President and CEO Oscar Gonzalez Rocha in April 2026. (source)
Production volumes are mined output per the Q1 2026 8-K; the +16.4% silver/zinc figures cited in the release refer to sales volumes, not mined production. Southern Copper reports by metal, not by reportable operating segment.
Figures are as of 2026-06-04 and reflect the most recent public filings/IR releases; they are updated after each earnings report.
What does Southern Copper do?
Southern Copper mines, smelts, and refines copper, along with byproducts like molybdenum, zinc, and silver. Its mines sit mostly in Peru and Mexico, and it holds one of the largest copper reserve bases of any listed company. Copper is the metal the electric grid, data centers, and EVs all run on. A single electric car uses up to four times the copper of a gasoline one (IEA, Global EV Outlook 2025), so demand has a long runway even as the assets themselves stay stubbornly physical. Supply is the tighter half of the story: the IEA expects announced copper projects to fall roughly 30% short of demand by 2035 (IEA, Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025), as electric vehicles, the grid, and AI data centers pull on the same metal (S&P Global, “Copper in the Age of AI”).
Goldman Sachs Research “forecasts the LME copper price to reach $15,000 per tonne by 2035.”
Why is Southern Copper a HALO company?
A copper mine is about as far from software as a business gets. Finding an orebody, permitting it, and building the mine and smelter takes years and billions of dollars. An AI can help plan the dig or schedule the trucks, but it cannot conjure the copper. That gap is the whole point of the Heavy Asset Low Obsolescence (HALO) concept. Mining also ranks among the least AI-exposed kinds of work: studies of which tasks language models can do put physical, hands-on occupations at the bottom of the exposure scale (Eloundou et al., Science 2024).
What did Southern Copper report most recently?
In Q1 2026 (the quarter ended March 31, 2026), Southern Copper posted record net sales of $4,251.4 million, up 36.2% year over year, and record net income of $1,576.9 million, up 66.7%, with diluted EPS of $1.92 (Southern Copper, Apr 28, 2026). Adjusted EBITDA reached $2,712.8 million, up 55.4%. The driver was price, not volume: as of the first quarter of 2026, copper, silver, molybdenum, and zinc prices had all risen year over year, with the average silver price up 157.9%, which more than covered a 4.0% dip in Q1 mined copper output to 230,544 tons as lower Peruvian ore grades offset a stronger quarter at La Caridad. The company declared a $1.00 cash dividend and named Leonardo Contreras Lerdo de Tejada CEO after the death of long-serving chief Oscar Gonzalez Rocha (10-Q).
What is Southern Copper’s guidance?
For full-year 2026 the Board approved a capital investment program of $1,925.5 million and the company targets copper production of 915,400 tonnes, about 4,000 tonnes above its earlier plan, plus higher molybdenum (27,400 t), zinc (166,800 t), and silver (24.0 million oz) output than first planned (Southern Copper, 1Q26 guidance). A large slice of that spend funds the $1.8 billion Tía María project in Peru, with start-up targeted for mid-2027.
What are the risks for Southern Copper?
- Copper price swings. The stock lives and dies with copper, which moves with the global economy; a soft year for industrial demand can hit earnings hard.
- Country and permitting risk. Operations in Peru and Mexico carry political, permitting, and environmental exposure, and projects like Tía María have faced delays.
- Production declines. Q1 2026 copper output fell 4.0% on lower Peruvian ore grades, a reminder that aging mines need fresh capital to hold volumes.
- Leadership transition. A new CEO took over in April 2026 after the death of the long-tenured prior chief.
Related securities, concepts & terms
- Heavy Asset Low Obsolescence (HALO)parent
- J.B. Hunt (JBHT)sibling
Related indices & ETFs
- Roundhill HALO ETF (LOHA) · Roundhill InvestmentsTracks the Akros U.S. HALO Index, which includes this company.
Frequently asked questions about Southern Copper
What does Southern Copper do?
Southern Copper mines, smelts, and refines copper and related metals (molybdenum, zinc, and silver as byproducts) across Peru, Mexico, and the United States, and holds one of the largest copper reserve bases of any listed miner. It mined 230,544 tons of copper in Q1 2026 and targets 915,400 tonnes for the full year.
Why is Southern Copper part of the HALO concept?
Its value comes out of the ground. Orebodies, mines, and smelters take years and heavy capital to build, which is exactly the kind of physical asset that AI cannot copy or render obsolete. The thesis has a demand tailwind too: the IEA expects announced copper projects to fall roughly 30% short of demand by 2035 as the grid, EVs, and AI data centers compete for the same metal.
When does Southern Copper report its next earnings?
Southern Copper is expected to report Q2 2026 results around July 29, 2026. That date is calendar-estimated and unconfirmed, so check Southern Copper's investor relations page. It last reported Q1 2026 on April 28, 2026.
What was Southern Copper's latest quarterly revenue?
Southern Copper reported record net sales of $4,251.4 million in Q1 2026, up 36.2% year over year, with record net income of $1,576.9 million (+66.7%) and diluted EPS of $1.92. The gain was price-led: the average silver price rose 157.9% to $83.33/oz, lifting adjusted EBITDA 55.4% to $2,712.8 million even as mined copper output dipped 4.0%.
What is Southern Copper's guidance or outlook?
For full-year 2026, Southern Copper targets copper production of 915,400 tonnes and a Board-approved capital investment program of $1,925.5 million, alongside higher molybdenum, zinc, and silver output versus its initial plan.
Sources & references
- Southern Copper Corporation reports first quarter 2026 results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1) · Southern Copper Corporation / SEC EDGAR, 2026-04-28
- Southern Copper Corporation · Q1 2026 quarterly report (Form 10-Q) · Southern Copper Corporation / SEC EDGAR, 2026-04-30
- Southern Copper Corporation · Company Presentations (1Q26 production and capex guidance) · Southern Copper Corporation, 2026-04-28
- Southern Copper Corporation · Financial Information (Investor Relations) · Southern Copper Corporation, 2026-06-04
- Southern Copper Corporation · 2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K) · Southern Copper Corporation, 2026-02-25
- NYSE listed company information · SCCO · New York Stock Exchange, 2026-06-02
- Global EV Outlook 2025 (copper intensity of electric vehicles) · International Energy Agency, 2025-05-01
- Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 (copper supply gap) · International Energy Agency, 2025-05-21
- Copper in the Age of AI · S&P Global, 2025-09-01
- Copper price forecast (long-run demand vs supply) · Goldman Sachs Research, 2026-01-15
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs · Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock · Science, 2024-06-21