Barrick Quarterly Earnings Benefit from Higher Prices as Production Remains On Track for Annual Target

By Robb M. Stewart

Barrick Mining logged a slight rise in third-quarter net earnings thanks to a jump in gold and copper prices and as improvements in productivity mitigated cost pressures from fuel, consumables and local currency appreciation.

Gold production, while down slightly on a year earlier, rose from the prior quarter to keep Barrick on track to hit its output target for the year, while copper production declined quarter-over-quarter and compared with last year but the company said it was holding to its full-year guidance.

"This quarter marks a full year of consistent delivery," Chief Executive Mark Hill said. "Twelve months ago, we set out to earn back trust and restore Barrick to its history of discipline and excellence."

Hill, who a little over a year ago took the helm at the Toronto-headquartered company after it parted ways with long-time CEO Mark Bristow, has been working to rebuild credibility with investors after what he has conceded has been a history of missing guidance and a safety record that was among the worst in the industry. He has pegged the comeback on reliability, growth, improved safety as well as a listing of the company's prized North American gold assets.

Hill said that for a fourth consecutive quarter Barrick improved safety, advanced growth projects, returned significant capital to shareholders and strengthen Nevada Gold Mines, the gold asset that anchors its operations in North America.

Barrick's net earnings for the third quarter came in at $1.32 billion, or 80 cents a share, against $1.3 billion, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis that strips out items including certain one-time costs and the impact of foreign exchange movements, per share earnings rose to 82 cents a share, beating the 79 cents mean forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization on an adjusted basis came in at $3.46 billion, compared with $2.86 billion the year before and the almost $3.4 billion consensus forecast according to FactSet.

Revenue for the quarter was 22% higher than a year prior at $5.07 billion, topping analyst expectations for roughly $5.16 billion. Although the market price for gold slipped during the third quarter, the price realized by Barrick was 23% higher than the year before and the copper price was 49% above the year-earlier realized level.

Gold production for the three months totaled 816,000 troy ounces of gold, 2.5% higher than during the previous quarter but down from 829,000 a year earlier due mainly to what the company said was extreme weather in Argentina that affected its Veladero mine and delayed access to high-grade material at North Mara mine in Tanzania that it expects to access in the final quarter.

Copper production slipped to 50,000 metric tons, from 56,000 tons a quarter earlier and 55,000 last year.

Barrick is aiming for sequential increases in gold output each quarter and for copper output to stabilize in the third and fourth quarters of this year. It said it continues to expect gold production of between 2.9 million and 3.25 million ounces in 2026, and copper output of 190,000 to 220,000 tons.

The miner has been aiming to finalize an initial public offering of a minority stake in its North American gold operations by the end of the year.

The company earlier in the year selected New York for the primary listing of the new company and in August it promoted Sebastiaan Bock to the role of CEO of Barrick's International business as Hill prepares to run the North American gold arm.

Barrick also recently secured support for the North American IPO from Newmont, which is a partner in the Nevada Gold Mines operation and Barrick's Pueblo Viejo mine in Dominican Republic. That deal included a $1.95 billion payment to Barrick and an agreement to add Barrick's promising Fourmile project and Newmont's Fiberline and Mike developments to the Nevada venture.

The North American gold mines produced 497,000 ounces in the latest quarter, up from 494,000 the previous quarter but down from 536,000 a year earlier. Barrick previously highlighted the potential for Nevada Gold Mines to produced more than 3 million ounces annually beyond 2030 from a forecast 1.77 million to 1.98 million this year.

The company said it returned $1.04 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including through its dividend and $761 million in share buybacks. Its balance sheet strengthened, and it ended the quarter with net cash of $900 million against $30 million as of the end of the second quarter.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2026 06:15 ET (11:15 GMT)