Anglo American is in the middle of the biggest overhaul in its long history, and its latest results show both the promise and the price of it. For the first half of 2026, the miner reported underlying core profit up 35% to $4 billion, a jump driven by record copper prices. On the strength of that, the board more than tripled its interim dividend to $0.23 a share, up from $0.07 a year earlier.
A profit and a loss at the same time
Look lower down the accounts, though, and Anglo actually lost money: it posted a bottom-line loss of about $0.9 billion for the period. The reason is the very reshaping that is lifting its profits. Anglo agreed to sell its steelmaking coal mines to Dhilmar for up to $3.875 billion, and writing that business down to the agreed sale price pushed a $0.9 billion impairment through the accounts. It is, in effect, paying an accounting price now to become a cleaner, copper-focused company later.
Copper is carrying the group
Copper is the whole point of the strategy, and the numbers show why. The metal generated $2.9 billion of underlying earnings at a 60% margin, effectively carrying the company, after the copper market price rose 39% and delivered a $1.2 billion earnings boost. Chief executive Duncan Wanblad says Anglo is being rebuilt around copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients, while it prepares to complete its merger with Canada's Teck Resources to create what he calls "a global metals and minerals champion." Meanwhile the businesses being shown the door are the ones losing money: the De Beers diamond arm made a $113 million loss, and Anglo is in talks to sell its 85% stake for about $1 billion.
What to watch
For shareholders, there is comfort in the balance sheet: net debt fell to $8.2 billion and cash generation jumped. The catch is concentration. With copper now throwing off almost all of Anglo's earnings, the whole plan leans on the metal holding its record run, and on the Teck merger clearing its last hurdle, anti-trust approval from China, the final regulatory sign-off before completion. If copper cools before the diamonds and coal are gone, the reinvention gets a lot harder to sell.
