February 25, 2026
BHP recently released its half-year financial results for the July to December 2025 period, posting a bumper US$5.6 billion net profit over those six months, an increase of 28 per cent on the same period in 2024.
Underlying pre-tax earnings – a more straightforward measure of the business’s operational profitability – were US$15.5 billion for the half, for an earning’s margin of 58.4 per cent.
Despite 2022’s stratospheric coal prices now being firmly in the rear-view, BMA and Mt Arthur continue to turnover healthy, if more modest, profits. With an earnings margin of 15 per cent, BHP took home US$257 million in gross earnings from its 50 per cent share of BMA in the latter half of last year. Meanwhile, Mt Arthur Coal earnt the company US$99 million despite average realised thermal coal prices dropping below the three-figure mark to US$96/t.
But it’s copper and BHP mainstay iron ore that now well and truly dominate the BHP balance sheet. Recording a spectacular earnings margin of 62 per cent and a gross profit of US$7.5 billion, BHP’s iron ore division contributed 48 per cent of the company’s overall earnings. BHP continues to highlight its status as the world’s lowest cost major iron ore producer – a fact which undercuts their melodramatic complaints about the costs of renewed union activity and fourfold increase in right of entry requests in the Pilbara.
The July-December half saw copper overtake iron ore for the first time to contribute 51 per cent of BHP’s profits. No wonder the world’s major mining companies are scrambling for any and all opportunities to acquire and expand copper assets. Indeed, copper was the central motivation behind BHP’s unsuccessful takeover bid for Anglo last year and the recently abandoned Rio Tinto and Glencore merger talks. BHP’s copper production has grown around 30 per cent over the past four years, and is set to continue expanding.
Six-months in, this financial year already looks like it will prove very lucrative indeed for BHP shareholders.