Barrick Mining Corporation

Barrick reported Q2 net earnings of $1.2 billion, up 50% year over year, and adjusted net earnings of $1.36 billion, or adjusted EPS of 82¢. Attributable adjusted EBITDA was $2.425 billion, up 51% year over year, with a 59% margin. Gold production was 976 thousand ounces, 3% above guidance and 11% above Q1; copper production was 56 thousand tons. Attributable free cash flow for the quarter fell 33% year over year, but Hongyu Cai said it would have been over 60% higher excluding a one-time $400 million Loulo-Gounkoto payment. Year to date, attributable free cash flow was $1.4 billion, more than double the prior-year period. The company closed the quarter with $1.2 billion of net cash, an undrawn $3 billion revolver, and no meaningful debt due until 2033. Management said 2026 production and cost guidance is unchanged; Q3 gold output should be higher than Q2 and Q4 higher still, while copper production should increase in the second half. Group 2026 total attributable capex was lowered to $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion, and Reko Diq 2026 attributable capex was reduced to $450 million to $500 million.

Mark F. Hill framed the quarter as evidence that Barrick is improving operational consistency, with gold production above guidance, projects on time and on budget, and the North American IPO tracking for year-end. He emphasized that the Newmont agreement removes friction, aligns the partners, and should let Barrick focus on safely producing ounces and optimizing the Nevada asset base, especially around processing capacity and Fourmile. His tone was confident and upbeat, but he repeatedly returned to safety as the top priority and said the current safety performance remains unacceptable despite improvement.

Hongyu Cai highlighted strong operating leverage: net earnings of $1.2 billion, adjusted net earnings of $1.36 billion, adjusted EPS of 82¢, and attributable adjusted EBITDA of $2.425 billion at a 59% margin. She explained that free cash flow was seasonally weakest in Q2 and was also affected by a one-time $400 million Loulo-Gounkoto payment, but said year-to-date attributable free cash flow of $1.4 billion was more than double last year. She also pointed to a strong balance sheet with $1.2 billion of net cash, an undrawn $3 billion revolver, and no meaningful debt due until 2033, while reiterating a capital return framework built around a 17.5¢ quarterly base dividend, a year-end top-up target to 50% of attributable free cash flow, and $1.2 billion of buybacks this quarter.

Analysts focused heavily on the Newmont transaction and Fourmile. Management said the $4 billion is a total package that includes Fourmile, 61.5% of Mike and Fiberline, dispute settlement, and reduced IPO friction costs; they refused to break out the components and said the IPO remains at 10%. Questions also centered on accelerating Fourmile and Nevada processing; management said they want to optimize the full processing flow, are considering a roaster or autoclave, and may not bring production earlier but want a faster ramp once it comes online. On Loulo-Gounkoto, management said the operation is now self-sustaining and growth next year would start from deeper pushbacks and open pits. They also explained the $400 million Loulo-Gounkoto payment as retrospective royalties, penalties, and interest for 2024 and 2025 under the 2023 mining code, after earlier years had already been settled.