Newmont Stock Is Rising. Earnings Show How the Miner Will Use Gold-Rush Cash.

The gold miner has bought back more stock already in 2025 than throughout all of last year. (Photograph by Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg)

Newmont shares were climbing on Friday after the company posted strong second-quarter earnings, and announced an additional $3 billion stock-repurchase program.

The world’s largest publicly traded gold miner reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.43 for the quarter, above analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.16, according to FactSet, and nearly double the 72 cents recorded a year earlier. Sales totaled $5.3 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s call for $4.8 billion, and growing from $4.4 billion last year.

Newmont shares were rising 4.8% to $64.45 on Friday, having climbed 65% in 2025 as of Thursday’s close. Apart from an NYSE listing, Newmont shares also trade in Canada.

While Newmont also mines copper, silver, and other metals, few companies have benefited more from the spike in gold prices. Total sales through the first two quarters of 2025 were $1.9 billion higher than in the same period last year; $1.86 billion of that growth came from gold.

Prices have played an obvious role. Gold continuous-contract prices have soared 40% from a year ago to $3,337.80 an ounce, as investors flocked to bullion as a stable asset amid global trade turmoil. The precious metal remains just 3.3% off its June 13 all-time high, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Newmont’s average realized gold price in the second quarter was $3,320 an ounce, 41% higher than the year prior. Silver prices rose only modestly, and zinc, lead, and copper prices all declined.

With prices normalizing over the last month, the question now is whether Newmont can translate the gold rush into long-term returns for shareholders. A deluge of share buybacks is one way to make that happen.

Newmont’s board has approved an additional $3 billion for share repurchases, the company announced Thursday, bringing its total authorization to $6 billion. The company has repurchased $1.36 billion of common stock in the first two quarters of 2025, more than it bought back all of last year.

The buyback program shows “the confidence that we have in our business and our commitments to rewarding our shareholders,” said CEO Thomas Palmer on a conference call.

The company is also in an ideal position to strengthen its balance sheet. Newmont has reduced its debt load five consecutive quarters, and that effort may continue even as it now stands at $7.5 billion, below management’s debt target of $8 billion.

“We are proactively assessing opportunities to further reduce our outstanding debt, creating a flexible and resilient balance sheet that is able to navigate the commodity cycle,” Palmer noted.

Barron’s has reached out to Newmont for further comment.

Crucially, Newmont also confirmed that it is on track to meet its 2025 guidance for both production and capital expenditures. The company can’t control the price environment for gold, but it can put itself in position to benefit from rising prices. And as Barron’s reported earlier this month, a growing cohort of analysts think bullion can get to $4,000 an ounce.

To that end, analysts remained confident in the company’s fiscal discipline and operational success following the earnings print.

Solid cost control at Newmont’s mines has supported the share repurchases, wrote Shane Nagle of National Bank of Canada in a research note. And gold prices haven’t hurt, Nagle added. He rates Toronto-traded Newmont stock at Sector Perform with a C$100 price target.

Likewise, Carey MacRury of Canaccord Genuity Capital pointed to Newmont’s improving production, strong free cash flow, buyback program, and attractive valuation as factors that make the stock a top pick among its peers. MacRury rates NYSE-traded Newmont stock at Buy with an $85 price target.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com