Gold and the U.S. dollar have a special relationship.
For a time, the greenback’s value was directly linked to a fixed weight of gold. Now, the dollar isn’t backed by the precious metal but by trust in the financial health of the country. That troubles some investors, amid high deficit spending, trillions in government debt and rising inflation, with increasing energy costs linked to the Iran war and gridlock at the Strait of Hormuz.
That inflation erodes spending power over time, making gold an attractive asset to some investors because, despite shorter-term volatility, gold tends to hold its value over time.
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With this backdrop, gold prices are holding strong, although they’re not at the record highs they’ve seen relatively recently. Alex Riedel, head of client portfolio management at Advyzon Investment Management, says the potential for a weakening dollar amid continued deterioration of U.S. debt and deficit metrics and easier-than-expected Federal Reserve monetary policy last year have added concern about the long-term purchasing power of the dollar.
“All of this gives investors, including central banks, institutions and individuals, a nudge toward some level of diversifying away from a potentially over-dollarized position in their portfolios,” Riedel says.
Why Are Gold Prices Higher Now?
Central bank gold purchasing has been a big driver of record gold prices in recent years, especially after asset freezes and banking restrictions targeting Russia after it invaded Ukraine. Much of the sanctions are U.S. dollar-based.
“Trust continues to be called into question, and countries around the world are looking for a neutral reserve asset to safeguard sovereignty and wealth,” says Alex Deluce, founder of the Gold Telegraph.
Risks of Investing in Gold
While there remains a strong case for gold as a store of value, there are some cautions.
First, gold prices are notoriously volatile. Also, don’t expect gold to make you a lot of money over the long run like stocks might. Many experts say to keep only a small portion of your portfolio in gold as a stabilizer. Don’t expect it to act like a growth stock.
Nic Puckrin, macro analyst and the co-founder of Coin Bureau, a digital asset analysis platform, says gold has likely entered a multiyear consolidation period, as it has in the past between rallies.
“It’s looking likely that monetary policy across the globe will be more restrictive in the near term, which isn’t a conducive environment for gold,” he says. “We’ve also seen some central banks in countries like Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan starting to sell down their gold reserves as their currencies come under pressure — a trend that is unlikely to reverse quickly even if the Iran war comes to a definitive end.”
And while the return of the “dollar debasement trade” could be good for gold in the medium term, investors are also turning to other assets to diversify their U.S. dollar exposure, including Japanese and European bonds instead of U.S. Treasurys, Puckrin says.
Physical Gold vs. Gold Miners
It should also be noted that gold and gold miners aren’t the same thing. From cash flows, miners can fund dividends — unlike non-yield-bearing gold — or share buybacks. Gold-miner stocks can also outperform the price of gold as the metal rises in value because operating and financial leverage lead to a higher percentage of increased free cash flow. Basically, an increase in the gold price adds to cash flow, while production costs and company debt remain the same. While the opposite is also true, companies in a declining gold price environment can take measures to offset the damage by cutting costs, finding efficiencies or boosting production.
But there are also risks in owning mining stocks that there aren’t with physical gold. For example, their mines might not produce as much gold as expected, operational costs could rise or regulatory pressure could increase.
That said, gold mining companies are on a tear right now, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ticker: GDX), which focuses on large gold producers, and the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), which invests in smaller producers, explorers and developers, having both more than doubled over the past 52 weeks.
“Gold miners are making record profits and still trade at a major discount compared to similar revenue tech companies, as they are running depleting assets,” notes Morgan Lekstrom, co-founder and executive chairman at gold tokenization specialist Streamex Corp.
With that in mind, here’s a look at seven top gold stocks:
| Gold Stock | Forward Dividend Yield* | Forward P/E* |
| Newmont Corp. (NEM) | 0.9% | 9 |
| Barrick Mining Corp. (B) | 1.6% | 9 |
| Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) | 0.9% | 17 |
| Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) | 0.9% | 12 |
| Evolution Mining Ltd. (OTC: CAHPF) | 2.9% | 12 |
| Lundin Gold Inc. (OTC: LUGDF) | 5.8% | 15 |
| Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX) | 0.2% | 8 |
*As of May 14. Sources: Yahoo Finance, Finviz.
Newmont Corp. (NEM)
“Major producers, known as ‘seniors,’ can offer investors strong balance sheets and a record of profitability,” Riedel says. “In a sustained rising gold market, seniors have the potential to significantly outperform gold with more stability than juniors, making them an attractive option in this environment.”
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.
[READ: 5 Best Aluminum Stocks to Buy in 2026]
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 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.
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 is known for having a strong management team that finds, develops and operates gold mines at relatively low costs.
Evolution Mining Ltd. (OTC: CAHPF)
This 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 April quarterly report, it said it was on track to deliver fiscal year 2026 gold production below original cost guidance and an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of 2,220 Australian dollars per ounce. That translates to nearly $1,600 in U.S. dollars, which is around the global industry average AISC, a widely used metric to gauge margins in the gold mining industry.
The company has been using its cash flow to repay debt. At the end of the most recent quarter, it had a cash balance of AU$1.37 billion ($980 million), an increase of AU$404 million ($288.7 million), and no debt payments due until fiscal 2029.
Lundin Gold Inc. (OTC: LUGDF)
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.
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. Lundin’s AISC in its most recent quarter stood at $1,114 per ounce sold. It ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $704 million and no debt.
Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX)
Vince Stanzione, CEO at First Information, a publisher of educational materials related to financial spread betting and derivatives trading, says he likes this gold producer. He says it has a “very attractive” forward P/E (price-to-earnings) ratio and has a strong chief executive officer. CEO Darren Hall’s career includes leadership roles at Newmont and Calibre Mining, which merged with Equinox in 2025.
“Recent results were solid, but investors will want to see a clear ramp-up in production, which should come through in the second half of the year,” Stanzione says. “With gold prices staying strong and costs under control, EQX should generate excellent free cash flow.”
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7 of the Best Gold Stocks to Buy for 2026 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/15/26: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
