Gold Miners Remain Disciplined Amid Record Cash Flow

Precious Metals Weekly · Issue 660 · 10 June 2026

The Metals Focus Gold Peer Group Analysis shows the world's leading gold miners generated record free cash flow of US$25.8bn in 2025 — nearly three times the US$9.2bn of 2024 — as a Q4.25 weighted-average gold price of US$4,120/oz against cash costs of US$1,323/oz delivered the highest operating margin in the 15 years of the study. With production easing to 6.3Moz in Q4.25 (from over 7.0Moz two years earlier), the gains reflect stronger prices rather than higher output. Management teams stayed disciplined: capital expenditure rose to US$682/oz, exploration spending increased, the peer group swung from US$15.3bn net debt to US$6.3bn net cash, dividends more than tripled to US$3.0bn, and reserve life held near 20 years. Despite record profitability, valuations remain subdued at 5.4x EV/EBITDA versus more than 7x in early 2023.