Financial results for the year ended 30 June 2026
Strong cash generation, with majority of earnings from copper, increase returns and investment in growth
“A contracting colleague was fatally injured at BMA last month. It was a tragic event, and while investigations continue, his loss sharpens our focus on safety above all, and on the controls that protect our employees and contractors every day. We will learn from this event to further improve safety.
FY26 was a strong year for BHP. We delivered record iron ore production and shipments at WAIO, ~2 Mt of copper for a second year running and a stronger result in coal. We met or beat guidance across much of the portfolio and achieved industry-leading cost positions.
This reliability, together with strong prices, drove a big lift in earnings with Underlying EBITDA increasing to ~US$33 bn. As a result of this, alongside unlocking of capital from undervalued assets and investing in growth, net debt fell to below US$9 bn, while returning substantial cash to shareholders through a final dividend of 99 US cents per share, the largest in four years.
Copper is the engine that is driving BHP’s growth. For the first time, Copper contributed more than half our Underlying EBITDA and generated significant free cash flow, which means our copper growth is self-funding. We have a well-defined project pipeline across Chile, Australia and Argentina that can potentially lift copper production by around 40% by FY35. At Escondida, we approved US$0.5 bn in pre-commitment funding for a new concentrator ahead of a final investment decision in CY27-28. In Australia, we continue to advance our copper growth plans, building on record operational and financial performance at Copper SA. We are also growing through partnerships, from Resolution in Arizona to Vicuña on the Argentina-Chile border, while maintaining exposure to future opportunities through our investment in Faraday Copper and an MOU with Sierra Gorda SCM.
In iron ore, we announced plans for Ministers North, a new mine in the Pilbara. The project will help sustain WAIO production above 305 Mtpa and further strengthen one of the most competitive businesses in the global mining industry.
Beyond copper and iron ore, Stage 1 of our Jansen potash project in Canada is 84% complete and on track for first production in mid-CY27. Jansen is expected to operate for more than 60 years and establishes BHP in a new commodity that is essential to food security.
Demand for what we mine is building. Copper demand alone is set to grow from about 34 Mtpa today to more than 50 Mtpa by 2050. We expect China to continue producing ~1 Btpa of steel this decade while it also invests heavily in its power grid, the United States is investing in copper-intensive technology, and India is importing more of the raw materials it needs as the fastest growing major economy.
Our commitments to social value and partnerships with customers and communities make a positive difference. Our operational emissions are down about a third since FY20 and we remain on track for our FY30 target, we spent a record amount with Indigenous businesses in FY26 and are the only global listed miner to have achieved a gender balance across our workforce.
BHP is well set for what comes next. We have significant opportunity to further lift performance across our assets and a clear pathway for growth. We are committed to keeping people safe, delivering our projects and generating strong returns for shareholders.”
Brandon Craig, BHP Chief Executive Officer
| Safety | Operational performance |
| Eliminating fatalities remains our highest priority | Record iron ore and ~2 Mt copper production |
| We are deeply saddened by the loss of a coworker at BMA’s Peak Downs mine in July 2026. Investigations are underway and the learnings will be used to reinforce our approach to eliminate fatalities across BHP.We remain focused on reducing risk exposure through the deployment of technology, strengthening our contractor management framework, and continuing to mature and deepen our BOS capability and field leadership. | We produced ~2 Mt of copper for the second consecutive year, cementing our position as the world’s largest copper producer,[i] and WAIO achieved record iron ore production and shipments.We demonstrated strong cost management in a challenging macro-economic environment. Escondida delivered a 10% decrease in unit costs while Copper SA achieved a 73% reduction, aided by strong by-product contribution, and we maintained our industry-leading unit cost position at WAIO for the seventh consecutive year.[ii] |
| Earnings and margins | Cashflow and balance sheet |
| Attributable profit US$9.8 bn Up 9% FY25 US$9.0 bn | Net operating cashflow US$21.8 bn Up 17% FY25 US$18.7 bn |
| Strong operational performance and disciplined cost control, combined with higher realised prices, generated ~US$10 bn of Attributable profit (>US$13 bn Underlying attributable profit,[iii] a 30% increase on FY25). Copper delivered record Underlying EBITDAiii of >US$18 bn (54% of Group Underlying EBITDA) with a 70% Underlying EBITDA margin,iii and US$6.9 bn of free cash flow.iii,[iv] Iron ore generated >US$14 bn of Underlying EBITDA, with an Underlying EBITDA margin of 61%. | BHP’s portfolio of tier one assets generated ~US$22 bn of net operating cashflow, and after investing in growth, in line with our Capital Allocation Framework (CAF), we delivered ~US$10 bn of free cash flow.iii In addition, we received silver streaming proceeds of US$4.3 bn and in August 2026, Global Infrastructure Partners provided US$2.0 bn in relation to BHP’s share of WAIO’s inland power consumption.Our balance sheet remains strong with net debtiii of US$8.7 bn (FY25: US$12.9 bn), which is below our net debt target range of between US$10 bn and US$20 bn, representing a net debt/Underlying EBITDA ratio of 0.3x[v] and a gearing ratioiii of 13.4%. |
| Growth and strategic partnerships | Shareholder value and returns |
| Capital and exploration expenditureiii US$10.3 bn Up 5% FY25 US$9.8 bn | Fully franked final dividend US$0.99 per share 72% payout ratio |
| We are continuing to invest in our significant pipeline of organic growth projects across the portfolio which we expect will deliver attributable copper equivalent production to a CAGR of 3 – 4% between FY27 – FY35.[vi] We are also exploring longer term growth partnerships across the portfolio. Vicuña, a non-operated JV with Lundin Mining, remains on track for a potential Stage 1 final investment decision (FID) as early as end of CY26. | We have determined a final dividend of US$5.0 bn. This brings total cash returns to shareholders announced for the year to US$8.7 bn, which is US$1.72 per share fully franked, the highest in four years. Including this dividend, we will have returned >US$115 bn to shareholders since the introduction of the CAF in 2016.Our operations continue to generate strong returns on investments with Underlying Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) of 26.1%.iii |
Social value
A key part of our competitive advantage is our focus on working with others to create a lasting positive contribution to society. It builds trust, and connects us to the resources, partners, investors, talent and markets that drive performance, resilience and growth. Our approach to social value differentiates BHP and enables us to create value for stakeholders, including our shareholders.
| Decarbonisation | Safe, inclusive, and future-ready workforce |
| Operational GHG emissions[vii] Down 33% vs FY20 baseline FY25 Down 34% vs FY20 baseline | Female representation[viii] 41.5% Up 0.2% pts FY25 41.3% |
| We remain on track to achieve our target to reduce our operational GHG emissions by at least 30% from FY20 levels by FY30, through structural abatement, as based on our current operational GHG emissions forecast for FY30 and methodologies for GHG emissions accounting. As previously noted, we expect our operational GHG emissions reduction progress to be non-linear.A key part of our progress since FY20 has come from the purchase of renewable electricity globally with 80% of our operated assets electricity now supplied by renewables.[ix] In FY26, stable emissions performance at WAIO and Escondida partially offset higher emissions at BMA and NSWEC reflecting increased production and higher methane intensity. | We maintained gender balance in our global employee base. We also strengthened our focus on increasing the representation of women in leadership, achieving 39.3% women in leadership roles across BHP (FY25: 36.5%). |
| Healthy environment Area under stewardship[x] that has a formal management plan | Indigenous partnerships Record Indigenous procurement spend |
| 246 k hectares Up 148 k hectares since FY25 | US$1.0 bn Up 18% FY25 US$853 m |
| We progressed our Healthy environment goal through the Jackboot project at Copper SA. We also delivered our first preliminary baseline natural capital account, at BMA. | We achieved record spend with Indigenous partners. This is a threefold increase since FY23. We also released our first Chile Indigenous Peoples Plan and remained on track with our Australian Reconciliation Action Plan and Canada Indigenous Partnerships Plan. |
| Responsible supply chains | Thriving, empowered communities |
| Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Strong performance in TSM | Total economic contribution[xi] US$50.8 bn FY25 US$46.8 bn |
| In FY26, BHP Corporate, BMA, WAIO and Olympic Dam completed external verification demonstrating strong environmental, social and governance practices against a credible international standard. | During the year, we contributed US$44 bn to suppliers, contractors, employees, governments and voluntary investment in social projects across the communities where we operate. This was 87% of our total economic contribution with shareholder payments of US$6.8 bn (13%). |