Gold prices have been setting records, recently surpassing $4,300 per ounce. Individual investors and central banks alike have been buying gold as a weakening U.S. dollar and lower interest rates boost the appeal of the precious metal.
“People are waking up to the impact inflation has had on a shrinking middle class,” says Brett Elliott, director of marketing at precious metals dealer APMEX. “Gold is seen as a universal solution that can protect against some of the corroding effects inflation has on wealth.”
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Joshua Glawson, content manager for precious metals dealer Money Metals Exchange, expects further gains for gold in 2026.
“I have a strong sense that the dollar will continue to lose its perceived stability, especially as D.C. and the Fed continue to drive the U.S. into further debt via inflationary policies and frivolous government spending,” he says. “As long as this continues, there is little hope left for paper fiat currency purchasing power in the USD Federal Reserve notes, and smart people will continue to hedge with gold and silver.”
Much gold buying and selling happens in futures markets in New York or China, or in over-the-counter deals in London. These types of transactions are often carried out by sophisticated institutional traders and often aren’t suitable for many everyday retail investors.
Should You Buy Gold ETFs or Gold Stocks?
Those who want easier and cheaper ways to invest in gold for longer periods of time can consider gold exchange-traded funds that are backed by the precious metal or that invest in gold mining stocks.
While equities-backed ETFs offer diversification, they may not perform as well as a single gold mining company that is able to outperform its peers by keeping mining costs low and executing well on operations and exploration. Investing in mining companies can also offer more upside than investing in the physical metal, as mining company share prices can outperform gold prices because of operating leverage.
“In an inflationary environment, gold offers capital preservation to central banks, the biggest marginal buyers of world annual gold mining production,” says Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager at Midas Funds, which offers the precious metals-focused mutual fund Midas Discovery (ticker: MIDSX).
With that in mind, here’s a look at seven of the best gold mining stocks to buy and their year-to-date returns as of Dec. 4. Remember, past performance is no guarantee of future results, especially in a relatively unpredictable economy:
| Gold Stock | YTD Return* | Trailing Yield** |
| Newmont Corp. (NEM) | 146.4% | 1.1% |
| Barrick Mining Corp. (B) | 167.3% | 1.3% |
| Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) | 18.7% | 1.4% |
| Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) | 121.2% | 0.9% |
| Lundin Gold Inc. (OTC: LUGDF) | 282.3% | 2.2% |
| Evolution Mining Ltd. (OTC: CAHPF) | 168.1% | 1.7% |
| Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV) | 73.9% | 0.8% |
*Year-to-date return as of Dec. 4.**Trailing-12-month dividend yield as of Nov. 30, rounded.
Newmont Corp. (NEM)
Newmont is the biggest gold mining company by both ounces produced and stock market valuation. Its size gives it an advantage when procuring equipment or services as well as synergies between operations. It also has a lot of financial firepower to expand both by exploring on its own or buying up mines of other companies.
In 2023, the company bought Australian miner Newcrest Mining. While the $19 billion transaction boosted Newmont’s gold holdings, it’s notable that it also substantially increased Newmont’s copper holdings.
Owning significant copper assets gives Newmont a strong foothold in a metal that is increasingly important to the global energy transition away from fossil fuels. Electric vehicles and renewable energy production such as with wind and solar farms require more copper than traditional vehicles or power plants.
Barrick Mining Corp. (B)
Weighing in as the world’s No. 2 gold miner in terms of production, Barrick has also been working to build up its footprint in copper. It has even changed its name from Barrick Gold, with ticker symbol GOLD, to B to reflect the strategic shift.
The company is investing heavily in a $2 billion expansion project at an existing Zambian copper mine and in a new copper-gold mine scheduled to come online in Pakistan in 2028.
But gold is still at the heart of what Barrick does, and business is booming. In its most recent quarter, Barrick reported record quarterly free cash flow of $1.5 billion, a 274% increase over the prior quarter, primarily because of higher realized gold prices, increased gold sales volume and lower total cash cost per ounce.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX)
While Newmont and Barrick are major gold companies that have been expanding into copper in recent years, for some time Freeport has been a premier copper company that is also a significant gold producer.
The company operates the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which is the world’s biggest gold mine and second-biggest copper mine, giving Freeport a substantial footprint in both the precious and base metals industries.
But Grasberg certainly isn’t FCX’s only asset. The company also operates seven copper mines and two molybdenum mines in North America. And it has two copper mines in South America.
The global footprint and multiple mine holdings give Freeport geographic and operational diversification to cushion its overall financial standing if something goes wrong with one of its mines.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM)
This gold miner has operations in Canada, Mexico, Finland and Australia, as well as numerous exploration projects around the world. It’s important for large gold mining companies to replenish the ounces they get out of the ground, which they can do by expanding existing mines, bringing other exploration projects into production or by buying other mining companies.
Agnico, the No. 1 holding in the Midas Discovery fund, has an “excellent management team with a track record of finding, developing and operating gold mines with high returns on capital employed by focusing on cost control in politically safe jurisdictions,” Winmill says. “The company has delivered sustained high per-share returns for stockholders while benefiting the communities where it operates.”
Lundin Gold Inc. (OTC: LUGDF)
This company is the No. 2 holding in the Midas Discovery fund, making up 10% of the fund. Headquartered in Canada, the company operates a high-grade gold mine in Ecuador that has been in production since 2019.
That mine, Fruta del Norte, is also relatively low-cost, and performance helped the company report record net income of $208 million and free cash flow of $191 million for Lundin’s most recent quarter.
While Lundin is in a much better spot than some other smaller mining companies that have yet to bring a mine into production, it also remains riskier than larger, more diversified miners given its smaller footprint.
Evolution Mining Ltd. (OTC: CAHPF)
This company is the No. 3 holding in the Midas Discovery fund, making up 7% of the fund. The miner operates one mine in Canada and five in Australia, where it is headquartered. These countries are among the top mining jurisdictions in the world and are relatively stable compared to many of the far-flung places companies go to seek gold, although permitting can be an issue anywhere.
In the company’s September quarterly report, it said the price of gold it received was 97% of the average spot gold price for the quarter, which is significant given that gold for immediate delivery rose about 16% during those three months.
The company has been using its cash flow to repay debt, reducing its debt-to-equity ratio to 11% during the third quarter from 30% at the end of 2023. It has paid off its bank term loans and doesn’t have any other debt repayments due until fiscal year 2029.
Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV)
Beyond mining companies, people can also invest in the precious metal through gold royalty and streaming stocks, which can be less risky because they don’t operate mines themselves. In a royalty deal, a company pays a miner upfront and later receives a percentage of revenue a mine generates. In a streaming deal, a company pays a miner an upfront price for a percentage of the metal produced by the mine.
Franco-Nevada in the third quarter reported a record $487.7 million in revenue, a 77% increase year over year, and a record $275 million in adjusted net income. According to FactSet data, analysts give FNV a consensus “overweight” rating, with an average price target of $228.66. In December, UBS raised its price target to $270 from $260, maintaining its “buy” rating on FNV shares, which closed at $202.93 on Dec. 4. Those two references imply FNV stock has a range of 12.7% to 33.1% potential upside.
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7 of the Best Gold Stocks to Buy for 2026 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 12/05/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
