Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) shares jumped 5% to $167.20 after the mining giant delivered a stronger-than-expected half-year result, underpinned by surging copper earnings, robust free cash flow and a higher interim dividend.
The company declared an interim dividend of US$2.11 per share after underlying profit rose 47% to US$6.7 billion for the first half of 2026.
Copper takes larger earnings share
Copper earnings climbed 84% to US$5.7 billion, coming in 9% ahead of market expectations as Rio continued to increase its exposure to the metal.
Copper now accounts for 36% of group earnings, compared with 43% from iron ore.
Iron ore earnings eased to US$6.8 billion but remained the company’s largest contributor.
Dividend tops consensus
RBC Capital Markets analyst James Redfern said the US$2.11 interim dividend was 3% ahead of the US$2.04 consensus forecast and in line with RBC’s estimate.
Redfern attributed the stronger payout to underlying profit beating expectations by about 3%, helped by a lower-than-anticipated tax rate of 25.5%.
Free cash flow was another standout, reaching US$3.8 billion for the half — well above market consensus of US$2.2 billion and RBC’s forecast of US$1.7 billion.
