On July 30, Rio Tinto PLC rose 3.14% in pre-market trading, trading at $96.57/share, with turnover of $1.822 million, extending gains following the release of its H1 financial results.

On the news front, Rio Tinto reported H1 underlying earnings of $6.85 billion, exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $6.78 billion. Adjusted EPS came in at $4.21, representing a 42.23% year-over-year increase. Free cash flow reached $3.8 billion, supporting a 43% surge in the interim dividend — the largest increase in recent years. The strong performance was primarily driven by robust copper business profits and rapid expansion of the lithium segment. The company also reported equity capital expenditure of $5.04 billion, up 12% year-over-year, with $870 million in productivity gains already realized.

Management noted that traditional demand, electrification, and artificial intelligence are driving earnings growth, while lithium demand from grid-scale energy storage batteries is exceeding expectations. The company plans to triple lithium output to 200,000 tonnes by 2028 to serve EV and battery storage markets. Additionally, Rio Tinto lowered its copper cash cost guidance to $0.30–$0.50 per pound for the year.

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