The world’s top gold mining corporation exceeded Wall Street’s earnings projections for the first three months of the year on Thursday, driven by historically high gold valuations that compensated for decreased mining output. However, Newmont cautioned investors about anticipated production declines and rising operational expenses in the upcoming quarter.
The mining giant projects that approximately 23% of its total attributable output will be delivered during the second quarter of 2026, marking a slight decrease from first-quarter performance levels.
Operating costs per unit are anticipated to climb significantly compared to the previous quarter, driven by increased sustaining capital expenditures, reduced silver production, and higher costs applicable to sales from the Boddington, Tanami, Lihir and Penasquito operations.
Additional cost pressures may emerge from rising oil prices and the full quarterly impact of increased royalty payments in Ghana, according to company officials.
Gold valuations reached unprecedented peaks during the first quarter, fueled by safe-haven investment demand and expectations of interest rate reductions, before moderating after the U.S.-Israel tensions with Iran triggered crude oil-driven inflation concerns. Despite the pullback, prices remained substantially higher than year-ago levels.
The company’s average realized gold price for the quarter reached $4,900 per ounce, a significant increase from $2,944 per ounce during the same period last year.
“Supported by our enhanced capital allocation framework, we have doubled the size of our share repurchase program with an additional $6 billion authorization, following the full execution of our previous program,” CEO Natascha Viljoen said.
Company stock climbed 1.8% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
Newmont’s gold production for the quarter totaled 1.30 million ounces, down from 1.54 million ounces produced in the previous year.
The production decrease resulted from reduced output at Boddington due to bushfire impacts, lower ore grades at Tanami during planned mining sequences and heavy rainfall conditions, plus decreased grades and scheduled maintenance activities at Lihir and Cerro Negro facilities.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.90 per share for the quarter ending March 31, significantly exceeding analysts’ consensus estimate of $2.18 per share, based on LSEG data compilation.
