By Rhiannon Hoyle and Katherine Hamilton
Newmont will focus on widening margins as it capitalizes on a record rally in gold prices, its chief executive said, after the world's largest gold miner reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit on higher royalties and taxes.
The miner is focused on improving the performance of its Nevada joint venture, said Natascha Viljoen, adding that she views that as the best way to generate value for shareholders.
Denver-based Newmont on Thursday posted a profit of $1.30 billion, or $1.19 a share, for the three months through December, compared with $1.40 billion, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier. In addition to higher taxes, results were weighed by impairment charges and a loss on divestments, the miner said.
Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $2.52, up from $1.40 a year earlier and ahead of the $2.05 forecast by analysts according to FactSet.
Newmont made a profit of $7.09 billion for 2025, up from $3.35 billion the year prior, fueled by a 45% increase in the average gold price it received.
Gold prices hit a record in January, breaking past $5,000 per troy ounce for the first time. The rally has been fueled by a weaker U.S. dollar and strong central bank demand, among other factors.
Viljoen said the miner generated record free cash flow in both the fourth quarter and the full year, helped by recent cost-cutting, and remains focused on expanding margins in 2026.
Some analysts have warned about gold-mining costs rising across the industry, as producers scramble to maximize production and advance new projects.
"We don't get starry-eyed with high gold prices," Viljoen told reporters.
Newmont will seek to squeeze extra ounces from its mines where "it comes at very minimal additional cost and it's a quick turnaround to bring those ounces to market," she said.
The company does plan to spend about $1.4 billion to progress development on projects including the Cadia Panel Caves, Tanami Expansion 2 and a feasibility study for a block-cave project at the Red Chris mine. It also expects to spend roughly $1.95 billion to improve its existing operations.
Improving performance at the Nevada Gold Mines, or NGM, joint venture with Barrick is a priority, Viljoen said. Barrick owns 61.5% of the venture and operates it, while Newmont owns the rest.
"We believe the best value that we can generate for our shareholders is to support the performance improvement at Nevada," Viljoen said.
Barrick recently said it will spin off its North American gold assets--including its stake in NGM--into a new publicly listed company, part of a broader reset for Barrick after it suddenly parted ways with former boss Mark Bristow last year.
In a statement earlier this month, Newmont said it is concerned about "the operation and management of NGM, which has suffered a degradation in performance and subsequent asset value over the past six years."
Newmont has transformed its own business in recent years, largely through the 2023 acquisition of Australia's top gold miner, Newcrest, and subsequent asset sales.
Viljoen said Newmont is "very pleased with our portfolio as it stands today," but didn't rule out further divestments.
"Nothing in our immediate future, but certainly optimizing this portfolio--very strong portfolio--that the team has built over the last five years is a priority for us," she said.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com and Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 19, 2026 22:39 ET (03:39 GMT)
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