After months of a seemingly endless rally into new all-time highs, the price of gold has finally cracked in 2026, leaving opportunities for less flashy metals like copper to swoop in. Copper futures are up more than 8% year to date (YTD) against a 7% drop in the price of gold over the same period. Part of the explanation is that copper demand continues to surge because of its importance in AI infrastructure, defense applications, and other areas.
At the same time, mine supply has struggled to keep up with demand growth. This puts a strain on global copper availability, exacerbated by permitting, processing and geopolitical factors. As many of the world's largest copper mines become deeper and lower-grade, they also become more expensive and energy-intensive to operate. The result is that a handful of dominant copper producers—companies with massive resources and operational infrastructure capable of continued expansion—could emerge as essential winners.
A Mid-Tier Copper Producer Expanding Thoughtfully But Steadily
With a market capitalization just over $10 billion, Canadian copper miner HudBay Minerals Inc. (NYSE: HBM) has traditionally been a mid-tier producer. It has a much smaller profile than major global mining firms like Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), but its strong footprints in Peru and Canada—two crucial areas for copper production—help to give it significant growth potential.
The company is also increasingly focused on copper specifically, helping it to narrow its operations at a time when other larger firms are tending to head the other direction. While this could be a boon for HudBay if copper prices continue to rise, it does expose the company to greater sensitivity to the copper cycle.
HudBay's production expansion is aggressive but responsible. The firm just completed an acquisition of Arizona Sonoran Copper Co. and is simultaneously moving toward an expansion at its Copper Mountain Mine in British Columbia, both of which strengthen and diversify its North American operations. This is possible because of the company's financial results, including record quarterly revenue of $757 million in Q1 2026, alongside adjusted EBITDA of $422 million and $102 million in free cash flow for the period. This represents a 27% year-over-year (YOY) improvement in revenue, which came alongside an earnings beat of 6 cents.
As HudBay expands, its diversification helps to mitigate operational risk. However, given that the company owns fewer mines than some of its larger competitors—and that it is predominantly focused on copper instead of multiple metals—the firm does carry some execution and other risks. Still, the firm trades at a comparably attractive 14x earnings and enjoys a solid Buy rating (10 Buys, two Strong Buys, and two Holds) as well as a predicted 19% upside potential from Wall Street analysts.
A Pre-Merger Opportunity With Teck
Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE: TECK) is about three times the size of HudBay in terms of market cap, but this firm is also pivoting its operations to focus more on copper. Indeed, Teck largely exited its long-time steelmaking coal business in 2024, leaving it to specifically target base metals like copper and zinc. Its larger scale, combined with that streamlined approach, may give it an advantage in developing its large copper assets.
Teck's size also makes it a good candidate for a merger, and the company has been pursuing just that. Teck appears to be seeking a merger of equals with fellow copper producer Anglo American PLC (LON: AAL), a 40-billion-pound (approx. $53.2 million) British multinational mining firm.
The resulting "Anglo Teck" will immediately become one of the largest copper mining firms in the world by market value and will consolidate a widely varied portfolio of copper mines and developments under a single umbrella. Investors, therefore, might view a pre-merger investment in TECK as a bet that the company will soon become a major player in the industry, on par with an FCX or an equivalent.
Of course, with the merger in the works, it remains to be seen exactly how things will pan out. Investors are cautiously optimistic about TECK shares in the meantime.
Although a majority of ratings (14) are Holds, five analysts still call TECK a Buy. Investors bullish on the company's long-term prospects—whether or not the merger is successful—may find Teck an attractive way to capitalize on the surge in copper demand, though the merger introduces unique risks for this stock compared to HBM.
The article "Copper Stocks Are Getting a Bigger Spotlight as Gold’s Rally Cracks" first appeared on MarketBeat.
