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Franco-Nevada Stock Hits 52-Week High: What's Aiding Its Performance?

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Key Takeaways

  • Franco-Nevada stock reached a 52-week high of $186.12, lifted by strong Q2 results and gold prices.
  • Q2 adjusted EPS rose 65% y/y to $1.24 , while revenues climbed 42% to a record $369 million.
  • FNV guides 2025 GEOs at 465-525K, with revenues projected to rise 25% y/y.

Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV - Free Report) shares scaled a new 52-week high of $186.12 on Friday before closing the session lower at $185.10. The increase was fueled by rising gold prices and the company’s solid second-quarter 2025 results.

FNV has a market capitalization of $35.7 billion and currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 

Franco-Nevada’s shares have gained 50.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 52.3%.

 

Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

What’s Driving Franco-Nevada?

Increase in Gold Prices: Several factors have contributed to the upward trajectory of gold prices in 2025, including increased geopolitical tensions, a depreciating U.S. dollar, the potential for monetary policy easing, continuous purchasing by central banks and tariff conditions. 

Backed by these, the yellow metal broke through the $3,500-per-ounce threshold for the first time in April 2025 and is currently near the record high of around $3,360. This momentum in the prices of gold is likely to improve Franco-Nevada’s results in the upcoming quarters.

Record Q2 Results: On Aug. 11,  Franco-Nevada reported adjusted earnings of $1.24 per share for the second quarter of 2025, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.10. The bottom line surged 65% year over year.

The company generated record revenues of $369 million in the reported quarter, up 42% year over year. The upside was driven by record gold prices and contributions from Precious Metal assets. 

The company sold 92,449 Gold Equivalent Ounces (GEOs) from Precious Metal assets in the reported quarter, up from the prior-year quarter’s 82,350 GEOs. In the reported quarter, adjusted EBITDA surged 64.8% year over year to a record $366 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 99% in the quarter under review compared with the prior-year quarter’s 85.3%.

Solid Streaming Agreements & Upbeat Outlook: Franco-Nevada appears to be on a promising long-term trajectory, backed by a healthy portfolio of streaming and royalty agreements put in place years ago. It continues to expand its portfolio without adding significant overhead.

Backed by a rise in deliveries from Antapaccay, the first full-quarter contributions from Porcupine and Côté, and initial contributions from Vale’s Southeastern System, the company expects an increase in GEO sales for the second part of 2025.

Franco-Nevada expects total GEOs between 465,000 and 525,000 in 2025, indicating a 7% increase at the mid-point from the 2024 reported figure. GEOs from precious metal assets are expected between 385,000 and 425,000. The company reported total GEOs of 463,334 in 2024. It expects 2025 revenues to be 25% higher than the 2024 actual. 

It expects to receive 10,000 GEOs from Cobre Panama in the third quarter as it has begun to receive deliveries of gold and silver from Cobre Panama based on its stream agreement.

Acquisition Strategy: The company continues to diversify its portfolio with acquisitions. On Feb. 28, 2025, Franco-Nevada acquired a precious metals stream from Sibanye-Stillwater's South African mines for $500 million, expecting more than 45 years of deliveries, mostly gold and platinum, with initial deliveries totaling around 27,000 GEOs.

On Jan. 21, 2025. Franco-Nevada acquired a 0.625% royalty on the Urasar gold-copper project in Armenia for $0.55 million in a joint deal with EMX Royalty Corp. After the end of the second quarter, the company acquired a 4.25% NSR royalty in Discovery Silver's Porcupine Complex for $300 million.

In July 2025, the company acquired a 1.0% net smelter return royalty on AngloGold Ashanti’s (AU - Free Report) Arthur Gold Project in Nevada from Altius Minerals. The deal was set at $250 million in cash, plus a contingent $25 million. Franco-Nevada funded the transaction with AngloGold Ashanti with cash on hand and a $175-million draw from Franco-Nevada’s $1-billion credit facility.

Strong Financial Position: Franco-Nevada is debt-free and uses its free cash flow to expand its portfolio and pay out dividends. 

It had an available capital of $1.6 billion as of the second quarter of 2025 and $1.35 billion post-funding the acquisition of a Royalty and AngloGold's Arthur project in Nevada. At the end of the second quarter of 2025, the company had $0.16 billion of cash in hand.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF - Free Report) and Idaho Strategic Resources (IDR - Free Report) . CF flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and IDR has a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $8.10 per share, indicating a 20.2% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 25.3%. CF’s shares have gained 9.2% in the past year.

Idaho Strategic Resources has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 2.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings is pegged at 76 cents per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 13.4%. IDR shares skyrocketed 110% last year.

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