Why is Glencore stock sliding today?

Glencore stock slipped 1.6% to trade at 533p as the company’s third-quarter 2026 Production Report, released before the open, delivered a mixed operational picture that left investors cautious.

While CEO Gary Nagle described the quarter as a "strong" performance with key assets broadly in line with expectations, the company flagged that full-year copper and steelmaking coal output is expected toward the lower end of their respective guidance ranges, a signal that tempered enthusiasm for the update.

The headline weakness was driven by sharp declines in cobalt and zinc. Cobalt output for the first nine months of the year fell 52% to just 13,700 tonnes, a consequence of export quotas imposed by the Democratic Republic of Congo that are not expected to be lifted until at least the end of 2027.

Zinc production dropped 23% year-to-date to 547,200 tonnes, reflecting the closure of the Lady Loretta mine and lower zinc grades at the Antamina operation in Peru.

Adding to the pressure, RBC Capital Markets had trimmed its price target on GLEN from 660p to 650p just a week before the report, citing higher working-capital requirements, which primed the market for a cautious read of the numbers.

The broader London market provided little offset. The FTSE 100 edged higher, buoyed by investor relief following the UK’s Autumn Budget and the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady. Sector peer Teck Resources also reported Q3 earnings today, keeping competitive attention on the mining space.

Glencore’s own marketing division offered a brighter note, with the company reaffirming its expectation that full-year Marketing Adjusted EBIT will exceed $5 billion.

Taken together, the combination of a soft copper guidance skew, a dramatic cobalt output shortfall tied to geopolitical constraints in the DRC, a significant zinc decline, and a pre-existing analyst target cut proved enough to push GLEN lower even as the wider index climbed, leaving the stock trading well below its 52-week high of 633.7p.