Newmont Posts Record Adjusted Net Income of $2.3 Billion as $2.20 Adjusted Earnings Beat the $1.96 Estimate and Cost Guidance Improves

Newmont reported third-quarter 2026 results on Thursday for the period ended Sept. 30, 2026, with revenue of $6.36 billion, reported net income attributable to stockholders of $2.5 billion, or $2.35 a diluted share, and record adjusted net income of $2.3 billion, or $2.20 a diluted share.

The quarter cleared the single published expectation tally used for every comparison in this article on both lines. That tally, the FactSet consensus as reported on Thursday, put expected adjusted earnings at $1.96 a share and expected revenue at $6.27 billion, against reported adjusted earnings of $2.20 a share and revenue of $6.36 billion - beats of $0.24 a share and about $90 million, both calculated by TickerGrove from the reported figures and the tally. Reported and adjusted results stayed distinct: reported net income attributable to stockholders was $2.48 billion, or $2.35 a diluted share, up from $1.83 billion, or $1.67 a share, a year earlier, while adjusted net income was $2.31 billion, or $2.20 a diluted share, up from $1.88 billion, or $1.71 a share. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.95 billion, up from $3.31 billion a year earlier. The average realized gold price was $4,317 an ounce, up from $3,539 a year earlier, which carried the top line even as attributable gold production of 1.3 million ounces came in below the 1.42 million ounces produced a year earlier.

Production held, and the full-year cost guide improved

Chief executive Natascha Viljoen said the company "remains on track to achieve our full-year 2026 production guidance and improved full-year cost outlook, supported by disciplined operational execution in the third quarter." Attributable gold production rose 1% from the second quarter to 1.3 million ounces, as higher production at Cadia after its recovery from a second-quarter seismic event, higher production at Brucejack and stronger throughput, grades and recovery at Peñasquito outweighed lower output at Lihir and Boddington on planned maintenance and at Yanacocha on mine sequencing. The company also produced 11 million ounces of silver and 23,000 tonnes of copper. Third-quarter gold by-product costs applicable to sales were $832 an ounce, down 20% from the second quarter, and by-product all-in sustaining costs were $1,454 an ounce, down 10%. For the full year, Newmont held production guidance at 5.3 million attributable gold ounces - the detailed guidance table shows 5.26 million ounces, within the release's plus-or-minus 5% framing - and improved by-product cost guidance to $925 an ounce for costs applicable to sales and $1,520 an ounce for all-in sustaining costs, crediting continued cost discipline and higher realized co-product pricing than previously assumed. The fourth quarter is expected to be the strongest production quarter of the year, at a guided 1.37 million ounces, but unit costs are guided higher in the quarter, to $1,250 an ounce for costs applicable to sales and $1,900 for all-in sustaining costs, on higher sustaining capital spending and lower co-product volumes.

Cash flow funded a $1.9 billion return

Cash from operating activities was $2.77 billion after a $565 million working-capital use, and free cash flow was $1.91 billion, down 13% from the second quarter on the lower operating cash flow and higher capital investment. The balance sheet ended the quarter with $8.8 billion of cash and $12.8 billion of total liquidity, in a net cash position of $3.2 billion, before a planned $1.95 billion payment to Barrick in the fourth quarter under the amended Nevada Gold Mines agreement described below. Since the last earnings call the company returned $1.9 billion to shareholders through dividends and repurchases, including $1.6 billion of share repurchases, leaving $2.8 billion under the current $6.0 billion authorization; the share count is down by more than 115 million shares, or about 10%, since February 2024. A dividend of $0.26 a share was declared for the quarter, payable on Dec. 21, 2026, to holders of record on Nov. 25, 2026. The gap between reported and adjusted net income was driven mainly by $116 million of reclamation and remediation charges, partly offset by a $40 million gain on asset and investment sales.

Nevada Gold Mines grows, Red Chris advances, and the watch list

Beyond the quarter, Newmont announced an amended agreement for the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture that contributes previously excluded assets - Barrick's Fourmile project and Newmont's Fiberline and Mike properties - into the venture, with the $1.95 billion payment to Barrick expected in the fourth quarter. At Red Chris in British Columbia, where Newmont holds a 70% interest, the block cave feasibility study is nearing completion and a full-funds investment decision is now expected in early 2027; the first phase is expected to produce 3.0 million ounces of gold and more than 850,000 tonnes of copper over an initial thirteen-year cave life, at development capital estimated between $4.2 billion and $4.8 billion, net of a planned 500 million Canadian dollar contribution from the Government of Canada, with construction expected to start in 2027 and commercial production targeted for 2033. At Tanami Expansion 2, shaft construction is complete and commercial production is now expected in the first half of 2027, ahead of the earlier schedule. For 2027 the company expects attributable gold production to grow by a low-to-mid single-digit percentage from 2026 while unit costs trend higher. What to watch next is whether fourth-quarter production lands as the year's strongest quarter without the guided cost step-up overshooting, whether the El Niño conditions the company is monitoring at Lihir affect water supply, production or costs there, and the early-2027 Red Chris investment decision. The company reported results after the close on Thursday; no earnings-call statements are verified in this article.