What's next for gold?

1. What has driven gold prices higher, created volatility and what is next?

Land: Gold has historically performed well during periods of financial and geopolitical stress, and recent trade tensions, global conflicts and fiscal uncertainty across major economies have reinforced this trend. Structurally, elevated government debt, persistent fiscal deficits, and greater tolerance for inflation are undermining confidence in fiat currencies. High levels of leveraged speculation particularly in China, helped to push prices higher before a sharp correct to end of January.¹ Despite the record declines, we still see fundamental support for elevated gold prices given constrained supply and growing demand.

2. Why are miners lagging bullion?

Land: Central banks and bullion-backed ETFs have fueled gold's rally, allowing bullion prices to rise materially faster than flows into mining equities. Many miners trade below historic multiples, with elevated free-cash-flow yields and attractive enterprise value (EV)/cash-flow multiples.² We think valuations have been trailing gold spot prices by ~20%³ for the past couple years—a striking disconnect.

3. Is the valuation gap justified?

Land: We don’t think so. The disconnect reflects investor perception rather than fundamentals. Investors still remember past cycles of cost inflation, capital misallocation, and dilution, but in our view the industry has changed. Today, miners have stronger balance sheets, better capital discipline and higher shareholder returns. At current gold prices, miners offer real operational leverage, with earnings and free cash flow climbing faster than the bullion price. Add continued macro tailwinds and gold’s negative correlation with the US dollar, and the case for miners looks well supported.

4. Do fundamentals support higher gold equity valuations?

Land:In our view, absolutely. Elevated gold prices have driven exceptional earnings and cash flow growth. Third-quarter (Q3) 2025 delivered record profits for many producers, with Q4 likely to exceed those levels as gold averaged ~US$4,150/oz, up ~US$700 quarter-on-quarter (q/q) and ~US$1,500 year-on-year (y/y).⁴ Revenues should rise ~20% q/q and ~55% y/y, while operating costs have been tracking less than 10%⁵, materially expanding margins. With flat production, the combination of strong cash generation and attractive valuations has also powered mergers and acquisitions (M&A), helping miners unlock value y/y, replace reserves and position for long-term growth.

5. How resilient are miners if gold prices decline?

Land: While elevated bullion prices warrant some caution, we estimate that miners have a substantial buffer. Sentiment can shift—think rising rates, easing inflation or declining geopolitical tensions—but we estimate gold prices would need to fall below ~US$3,500/oz before sector economics would start to resemble prior down cycles. Higher gold prices improve access to capital, increasing the exploration and development potential as well as project viability.