The business behind the dividend
| Measure | SCCO | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 39.4% | 10.6% | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | 39.4% | 10.0% | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $3.89bn | $120.90m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $3.43bn | $155.08m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | 52.2% | 14.3% | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | 32.4% | 10.1% | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | 0.61x | 0.73x | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | 18.04x | 4.22x | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 3.89x | 1.55x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 1.09x | 1.88x | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | 1.09x | 1.66x | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
| Accruals | -1.9% | -3.1% | (Net income − operating cash flow) ÷ total assets |
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 39.4% | 36.9% | 32.8% | 32.8% | 41.9% | 21.8% | 21.9% | 23.6% | 12.0% | 13.4% | 23.6% |
| Return on capital employed | 39.4% | 36.0% | 30.7% | 30.9% | 41.3% | 22.7% | 20.0% | 23.0% | 21.7% | 13.3% | 23.0% |
| Operating margin | 52.2% | 48.6% | 42.4% | 44.1% | 55.5% | 39.1% | 37.8% | 40.6% | 39.4% | 29.1% | 40.6% |
| Net margin | 32.4% | 29.6% | 24.6% | 26.4% | 31.2% | 19.8% | 20.5% | 21.8% | 11.0% | 14.5% | 21.8% |
| Debt to equity | 0.61x | 0.68x | 0.84x | 0.77x | 0.80x | 0.91x | 1.02x | 0.91x | 0.98x | 1.02x | 0.84x |
| Current ratio | 3.89x | 2.75x | 3.19x | 4.20x | 2.73x | 3.48x | 2.83x | 2.61x | 2.71x | 2.57x | 2.75x |
| Cash conversion | 1.09x | 1.30x | 1.47x | 1.06x | 1.26x | 1.76x | 1.28x | 1.44x | 2.70x | 1.19x | 1.28x |
How it compares in materials
Among the 79 materials companies here measured on free cash flow, Southern Copper Corp/ pays out less than 20 of them. The median for that group is 34.3%, against this company’s 72.5%.
Closest on free cash flow
- Corning (GLW) 70.7%
- Smurfit Westrock (SW) 75.0%
- Barrick Mining (B) 76.9%
- Luda Technology Group (LUD) 77.1%
Same sector and same denominator, so the figures are comparable. All 107 in materials →