BHP posts $13.20 billion profit as copper surpasses iron ore as top earner

Financial results and dividend payout

BHP reported an underlying attributable profit of $13.20 billion for the financial year ended June 30, up 30% from $10.16 billion in the previous year. The result exceeded the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $12.66 billion. Net profit rose 9% to $9.83 billion, while total revenue reached $58.80 billion, an increase of 15%. Underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation climbed 27% to $33 billion. Following the results, the company declared a final dividend of 99 cents per share, bringing the full-year distribution to $1.72 per share (a 56% increase and the highest payout in four years). Net debt fell to $8.69 billion at the end of the 2026 financial year, below the company target range of $10 billion to $12 billion and the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion.

Copper surpasses iron ore

Copper overtook iron ore as the group's primary earnings contributor for the first time on an annual basis, supported by market prices exceeding $14,000 per tonne. Operating earnings from copper and byproducts, such as gold and uranium, reached $18.19 billion, compared with $14.53 billion from iron ore. Earnings from copper mines alone rose 48% to $18 billion, representing 54% of total underlying EBITDA. Revenue from byproducts including gold, silver and uranium gained 45% to $4.5 billion. Chief executive Brandon Craig pointed to the metal's central role during his first annual results presentation since succeeding Mike Henry.

Copper is the engine that is driving BHP's growth.

Iron ore operations and energy investment

The group's flagship Western Australia Iron Ore division recorded $14.67 billion in operating earnings, a 2% increase from the prior year and near the Visible Alpha consensus of $14.75 billion. BHP stated that active portfolio and capital management could unlock up to $3.5 billion in additional value across its Western Australian assets. In a recent transaction, Global Infrastructure Partners invested $2 billion to acquire a minority stake in the project's inland power network. The company noted that cost pressures persisted across the mining industry, influenced by the Iran war and domestic industrial disputes at Australian sites.

Global market outlook and demand trends

BHP projects global copper consumption to expand from 34 million tonnes in 2026 to more than 50 million tonnes annually by 2050, driven by clean energy transition projects and power infrastructure for artificial intelligence data centres. The company aims to increase its own copper output by up to 40% by 2035, reaching 2 million tonnes per year. Craig addressed the broader commodity outlook for Chinese steel manufacturing, which is expected to produce approximately 1 billion tonnes of steel annually.

Demand for what we mine is building.

In China, softer domestic property demand was counterbalanced by export activity and government fiscal support, keeping economic expansion within the official 4.5% to 5% target range. In India, BHP expects economic growth to moderate in the near term because of elevated energy costs and weather disruptions.