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WPM Earnings Miss Estimates in Q3 Despite Higher Metal Prices

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Key Takeaways

  • Wheaton Precious Metals' Q3 adjusted EPS rose 45.7% to 90 cents but missed estimates of 91 cents.
  • Revenue climbed 62% to $772 million, driven by higher realized metal prices and increase in GEOs sold.
  • Operating cash flow surged 68.4% to $645 million as WPM reaffirmed its 2026 production guidance.

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of 90 cents per share for the third quarter of 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 91 cents. Adjusted earnings rose 45.7% from 62 cents in the year-ago quarter.

WPM's Revenue Mix Benefits From Higher Realized Prices

Revenues surged 62% year over year to $772 million but fell short of the consensus estimate of $806 million. Higher realized metal prices and an 18.8% increase in gold-equivalent ounces (GEOs) sold supported revenue growth.

Gold accounted for 51% of quarterly revenues, while silver contributed 46%. Palladium represented 0.5% and cobalt accounted for 2%. The average realized gold-equivalent price climbed 36% year over year, supporting the increase in sales.

The average realized gold price was $4,273 per ounce, up 22.8% from $3,481 in the prior-year quarter. Silver averaged $62.13 per ounce, increasing 56.7% from $39.66 a year ago. The company sold 192,270 GEOs compared with 161,845 in the third quarter of 2025.

Wheaton Precious Metals' Gold-Equivalent Output Rises

Attributable gold production totaled 91,753 ounces, down 8.2% year over year. The figure missed our gold production projection of 98,177 ounces for the quarter. Salobo produced approximately 65,800 ounces of attributable gold, down 2%, primarily reflecting lower grades due to mine sequencing. Constancia's gold production fell 75% as mining of the higher-grade Pampacancha pit had ended.

Silver production grew 36.5% to 8.2 million ounces, which came in higher than our estimate of 7.4 million ounces. Antamina contributed 2.7 million ounces, up 60%, largely reflecting the additional silver stream acquired from BHP. Peñasquito delivered a record 3.1 million attributable silver ounces, up 46%, on higher throughput and grades.

Attributable gold-equivalent production in the quarter was 230,965 ounces, up 13.3% from the prior-year quarter’s output of 203,835 ounces. Our projection was 226,771 ounces.

WPM's Gross Margin Expands Despite Higher Costs

Total cost of sales increased to $233.2 million from $140 million a year earlier. The gross margin in dollar terms rose 60.3% to $538.5 million from $336 million, while the gross margin was 69.8% compared with 70.5% a year ago.

General and administrative expenses were unchanged at $10 million. Operating earnings increased to $511 million from $315.5 million. Average cash costs rose to $548 per GEO from $452, while the cash operating margin advanced 39% to $3,466 per GEO sold, benefiting from stronger commodity prices.

Wheaton Precious Metals’ Balance Sheet Updates

The operating cash flow increased 68.4% year over year to $645 million, reflecting higher gross margin. The company reported $0.15 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Sept. 30, 2026, compared with $1.15 billion at the end of 2025.

Outstanding debt totaled $1.6 billion, leaving net debt of $1.5 billion at the quarter-end. It also declared a quarterly dividend of 19.5 cents per common share, up 18% year over year.

WPM Reaffirms 2026 Production Guidance

The company maintained its 2026 production outlook of 860,000-940,000 GEOs, including 400,000-430,000 ounces of gold, 27-29 million ounces of silver and 19,000-21,000 GEOs from other metals.

WPM expects better gold grades at Salobo in the fourth quarter as mining returns to higher-grade areas. The company also expects a slight increase in produced-but-not-delivered metal inventory before balances begin normalizing in early 2027.

Wheaton Precious Metals’ Price Performance

WPM shares have gained 33.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 14.2% growth.

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WPM’s Zacks Rank

Wheaton Precious currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Mining Stocks in Q3

Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of 50 cents per share for the third quarter of 2026, up 13.6% from 44 cents in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents by 8.7%. Kinross Gold’s revenues declined 1.5% year over year to $1.77 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) registered adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share for the third quarter of 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.4. Agnico Eagle Mines’ revenues rose 17.1% year over year to $3.58 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.55 billion by 0.9%.

Newmont Corporation (NEM - Free Report) posted third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.20 per share, up 28.7% from $1.71 in the year-ago quarter. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.94. Newmont’s revenues rose 15.2% year over year to $6.36 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.01 billion.

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