RIO TINTO PLC vs SOUTHERN COPPER CORPORATION, two Mining stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
The equity-return gap is near-triple: Southern Copper at 42%, Rio Tinto at 15.3%, the difference between owning the world's best copper reserves outright and balancing copper against iron ore's maturity. Southern's 58.3% operating margin doubles Rio's 25.9%. Rio's answer is cash and price: an 11.1% free-cash yield, nearly four times Southern's 3%, at 15.3 times earnings against 28.5. Southern pays the bigger dividend, 1.8%, on 0.57 turns of debt; Rio is clean. The pair prices quality against conversion: the finest single-commodity franchise in mining at a premium, or the diversified machine handing back its earnings at a discount. Both cases are honest; the thirteen turns between them are the market's copper conviction, stated in Rio's currency.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | RIO | SCCO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $93.73 | $171.42 |
| Market cap | $152.2B | $140.9B |
| Sector | Mining | Mining |
| Stage | Cyclical | Cyclical |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -3.8% | +26.6% |
| P/E | 15.3 | 28.5 |
| P/B | 2.27 | 11.88 |
| P/S | 2.64 | 9.68 |
| EV/EBITDA | 9.6 | 16.2 |
| Revenue growth | -2.4% | +22.1% |
| Operating margin | 25.9% | 58.3% |
| Net margin | 17.8% | 34.2% |
| Return on equity | 15.3% | 42.0% |
| Return on assets | 8.0% | 22.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 15.7% | 33.7% |
| FCF yield | 11.1% | 3.0% |
| Dividend yield | — | 1.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.57 |
| Current ratio | 1.44 | 4.38 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.90 | 7.74 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.