AEM vs. ORLA: Which Gold Miner Deserves a Spot in Your Portfolio?

Anindya Barman July 24, 2026

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Key Takeaways

Agnico Eagle and ORLA are advancing growth projects while benefiting from still-supportive gold prices.
AEM generated strong cash flow and shareholder returns, while ORLA expanded through Musselwhite.
Both miners face higher operating costs, but differ in valuation, ROE and 2026 growth expectations.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) and Orla Mining Ltd. are two prominent players in the gold mining space with solid producing assets and expansion-focused operations. While gold prices have pulled back sharply from their January 2026 highs, they remain supportive.

Heightened geopolitical tensions, a weaker U.S. dollar, tariff-related worries and concerns surrounding the Federal Reserve’s independence had driven bullion to a record high of nearly $5,600 per ounce in late January. Since then, gold has pulled back sharply due to inflation concerns triggered by a surge in crude oil prices amid Middle East tensions, with prices falling to $4,500 per ounce around the end of May.

Bullion continued to retreat in June, with prices slipping below $4,000 per ounce to a near eight-month low amid rate-hike expectations and a stronger greenback, despite reduced inflation concerns following the interim agreement between the United States and Iran. Meanwhile, the Fed held interest rates steady in the latest policy meeting, but signaled a potential rate increase before the year's end. Aggressive profit-booking also contributed to the slump in gold prices.

Gold prices recouped some losses to climb above $4,100 per ounce recently, but have again eased toward $4,000 per ounce as a surge in oil prices has stoked renewed inflation fears, fueling a hawkish shift in interest rate expectations. Notwithstanding the pullback, bullion prices are still up roughly 20% year over year.

Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of these two Canada-based gold miners to determine which one is a better investment now.

The Case for Agnico Eagle

Agnico Eagle is focused on executing projects that are expected to provide additional growth in production and cash flows. It is advancing its key value drivers and pipeline projects, including the Odyssey project in the Canadian Malartic Complex, Detour Lake, Hope Bay, Upper Beaver and San Nicolas.

AEM has a robust liquidity position and generates substantial cash flows, which enable it to maintain a strong exploration budget, finance a strong pipeline of growth projects, pay down debt and drive shareholder value. Its operating cash flow for full-year 2025 was a record $6.8 billion, driven by operational efficiencies. Operating cash flow was roughly $1.3 billion in the first quarter, up around 29% from the year-ago quarter.

AEM’s first-quarter free cash flow climbed 23% year over year to roughly $732 million. The upside was backed by higher realized gold prices and robust operational results. AEM also returned around $1.4 billion to its shareholders in 2025 and $375 million in the first quarter through dividends and share buybacks. It raised the quarterly dividend by 12.5% to 45 cents per share. AEM offers a dividend yield of 1.2% at the current stock price. It has a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 2.7%. AEM has a payout ratio of 18%.

Despite these positives, Agnico Eagle remains exposed to higher production costs. Its all-in-sustaining costs (“AISC”) — a critical cost metric for miners — were $1,483 per ounce in the first quarter, marking a roughly 26% year-over-year rise, impacted by higher total cash costs and an uptick in sustaining capital expenditures. Total cash costs per ounce for gold were $1,093, 22% higher than $895 a year ago. Total cash costs rose due to increased royalty costs and lower production.

AEM forecasts total cash costs per ounce in the range of $1,020 to $1,120 and AISC per ounce between $1,400 and $1,550 for 2026, suggesting a year-over-year increase at the midpoint of the respective ranges.

The Case for Orla Mining

Based in Vancouver, Orla Mining has operations and development projects in Mexico, Canada and the United States. The company acquired the Musselwhite gold mine in February 2025, expanding its asset base. Orla Mining inked a deal with Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX - Free Report) on May 13, 2026, for an at-market combination to create a North American senior gold producer. Once completed, the combined company will operate as Equinox Gold.

ORLA shareholders will receive 1.00 Equinox Gold common share and a nominal cash payment of $0.0001 for each Orla Mining common share as part of the deal. The company is set to increase its annual production, aided by a highly complementary portfolio of six North American mines.

Orla Mining’s Musselwhite mine, combined with Equinox Gold’s Greenstone mine in Ontario and the Valentine mine in Newfoundland & Labrador, will have a cumulative production of 685,000 ounces of gold in Canada. Of this, Musselwhite is expected to contribute 235,000 ounces of gold or 34% of the total production in Canada. The proposed business combination has been approved by the shareholders of both companies.

ORLA recently provided a strong operational update for the second quarter of 2026. Orla Mining reported a second-quarter total gold production of 88,265 ounces and gold sales of 90,225 ounces, up roughly 13% and 14% year over year, respectively. For the first half of 2026, it produced 169,471 ounces of gold, up around 35% from the prior-year period, driven by strong performance at Musselwhite.

Gold production at the Musselwhite mine came in at 67,077 ounces in the second quarter, which marked a 27% increase from the prior-year quarter. Operations at the Camino Rojo mine in Mexico returned to normal after a brief interruption due to an illegal worker blockade. The mine produced 21,188 ounces of gold in the quarter. ORLA remains on course to achieve its 2026 gold production guidance of 340,000-360,000 ounces, suggesting year-over-year growth of 16% at the mid-point.

ORLA ended the second quarter with a cash position of $451 million. It made debt repayments of $35 million during the quarter. Also, $182.7 million of convertible debentures were converted to equity, reducing its outstanding debt to $132.3 million, resulting in a net cash position of $318.7 million. The company is slated to report its second-quarter financial results on Aug. 4, 2026.

However, Orla Mining has been facing headwinds from higher operating costs. Total cash costs per ounce surged 109% year over year to $1,251 in the first quarter. AISC per ounce of gold sold increased 97% to $1,668. Higher costs are also expected to weigh on the company’s performance in 2026. The company expects AISC of $1,550-$1,750 per ounce of gold sold for 2026, suggesting an increase from $1,458 per ounce in 2025.

AEM & ORLA: Price Performance, Valuation & Other Comparisons

AEM stock has gained 14% in the past year, while ORLA stock has lost 11.2% compared with the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s increase of 39.3%.