Newmont (NYSE:NEM) used its fourth-quarter 2025 results call to outline leadership priorities under new CEO Natascha Viljoen, review what the company described as record earnings and free cash flow for 2025, and provide 2026 guidance alongside an enhanced capital allocation framework centered on a growing per-share dividend and ongoing share repurchases.
Leadership priorities and safety focus
Viljoen, who said she transitioned into the CEO role at the beginning of the year, stated that Newmont’s priorities remain consistent with those she emphasized as COO: safety as the highest priority; embedding efficiency and cost and capital discipline; improving operational consistency; advancing the highest-return projects; and enhancing shareholder returns by improving per-share metrics and returning capital “in a predictable manner.”
2025 performance: guidance met, free cash flow and divestitures highlighted
Management said Newmont achieved its full-year production and cost guidance for 2025, producing 5.7 million ounces of gold from its core portfolio, as well as 28 million ounces of silver and 135,000 tons of copper. Viljoen said productivity and cost-saving initiatives helped mitigate pressures associated with a higher gold price environment and supported margin expansion.
Newmont reported what it called record earnings and free cash flow on both a quarterly and annual basis, generating $2.8 billion of free cash flow in the fourth quarter and $7.3 billion for the full year. Viljoen also said the company generated $4.5 billion of proceeds to date from its non-core divestiture program and returned $3.4 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
On projects, Viljoen said the company achieved commercial production at Ahafo North by the end of 2025, bringing “over 300,000oz” of gold production into the portfolio in 2026. She added that Ahafo North capital spend is expected at approximately $950 million, at the lower end of the estimated range.
Reserves and exploration: reserve price raised; Yanacocha Sulfides deferred
Chief Technical Officer Francois Hardy said Newmont’s gold reserve base stands at 180 million ounces, supported by an additional 149 million ounces of gold resource—together representing approximately 40 years of production life. He added that Newmont also has one of the largest copper endowments within the gold industry, which management characterized as providing “significant organic optionality” over time.
Hardy said Newmont raised its 2025 reserve price assumption from $1,700 per ounce to $2,000 per ounce, calling the assumption conservative at more than 20% below the three-year trailing average and below spot pricing. He said reserve grade was unchanged year over year when adjusted for assets divested in 2025.
Hardy highlighted several reserve and resource movements and exploration outcomes discussed on the call:
- At Yanacocha, Newmont reclassified approximately 4.5 million ounces from reserve back to resource after deciding to indefinitely defer the Yanacocha Sulfides project.
- Reserve additions were cited at Tanami and Lihir, as well as at Brucejack, where the company converted approximately 740,000 ounces from resource to reserve.
- At Ahafo South, Newmont added approximately two million ounces to resource in 2025.
- At Brucejack, Hardy described a new discovery in the “Dozer Zone,” noting intercepts including 20.9 meters at 154 grams per tonne downhole, and said it will be a focus of the 2026 growth program.
- At Ahafo South, Hardy said exploration beneath the Subika and Apensu open pits indicates grades higher than the current mine average, and he anticipates exploration could deliver approximately four to five million ounces of new gold reserves in 2026.
Projects and 2026 outlook: production trough year, cost guidance, and capital plans
Viljoen said Newmont continues to advance its major projects, including Tanami Expansion 2 and the Cadia panel caves. At Tanami, she said the concrete shaft lining is complete and work is shifting to equipping the shaft and completing underground crushing and materials handling, with headframe and mechanical work expected to complete in late 2026 and full project completion still targeted for the second half of 2027. Following a question on the Tanami fatality, Viljoen said operations restarted within about four days after the incident; work on shaft infrastructure was paused pending internal investigation, while ventilation-related underground development returned to normal operations.
At Cadia, Viljoen said the company is progressing toward cave completion at PC 2-3 in the fourth quarter of 2026 and fired the first drawbell at PC 1-2 in December, which she called an important milestone. She also said Newmont is advancing tailings work and government approvals to support long-term operations.
Viljoen said Newmont received full funds approval for the near-shore barrier mine life extension at Lihir, involving construction of an in-ground concrete water seepage barrier that she said unlocks access to more than five million ounces from the Kapit ore body and extends mine life beyond 2040. She said Newmont expects to complete the feasibility study for the Red Chris block cave in the second half of the year, with full funds approval targeted in the second half of 2026.
For 2026, Newmont guided to total attributable gold production of 5.3 million ounces, including 3.9 million ounces from managed operations and 1.4 million ounces from non-managed operations. Viljoen said the outlook reflects mine sequencing at Ahafo South, Peñasquito, and Cadia; production impacts from Boddington bushfires in December (with processing now restarted at full levels after water infrastructure repairs); and lower-than-expected ounces from Nevada Gold Mines and Pueblo Viejo as indicated by the managing partner. She also said Newmont identified a “highly capital-efficient” plan at Yanacocha to continue mining through 2026 and into early 2027 using existing infrastructure, adding low-cost ounces expected to benefit early 2027 production.
On costs, Viljoen said the company is focused on controlling absolute costs and that 2026 increases in costs applicable to sales are expected to be tied to timing impacts and higher gold prices through production taxes, workers’ participation costs, and royalties. Newmont’s 2026 all-in sustaining costs (AISC) on a by-product basis were guided to approximately $1,680 per ounce, assuming $4,500/oz gold, $60/oz silver, and $5/lb copper. Management said each $100 increase in gold price is expected to increase AISC by about $6 per ounce due to taxes, royalties, and profit-sharing payments.
Newmont guided sustaining capital of about $1.95 billion in 2026 (including a $150 million shift from 2025), with about 52% weighted to the second half, driven primarily by tailings work at Boddington and Cadia and ventilation work at Tanami expected to complete in 2026. Development capital was guided at about $1.4 billion, with 55% weighted to the second half, largely due to work starting on the Lihir nearshore barrier. The company also said it expects exploration and advanced project spend to rise to about $525 million in 2026, and reclamation spend of around $850 million, primarily tied to water treatment plants at Yanacocha targeted for completion in 2027.
Management added that more than $1 billion of tax payments are expected in the first quarter of 2026, primarily related to 2025 accruals, contributing to lower first-quarter free cash flow compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.
Enhanced capital allocation: dividend growth and repurchases; balance sheet targets
Viljoen introduced an “enhanced capital allocation framework” designed to be sustainable through the cycle, built around a dividend intended to grow on a per-share basis and supported by share repurchases that reduce share count. She said Newmont increased its quarterly common dividend by 4% as a first step.
Interim CFO and Chief Legal Officer Peter Wexler said the framework begins with net cash from operations and prioritizes sustaining capital and the dividend first, then development capital and balance sheet targets, with excess cash allocated to share repurchases. Wexler said Newmont plans to pay a sustainable cash dividend of $1.1 billion per year and declared a fourth-quarter 2025 dividend of $0.26 per share.
Wexler said the company’s balance sheet is anchored by a $1 billion net cash target plus or minus $2 billion and supported by a minimum cash balance of $5 billion. In response to a question, management said the assumption that excess free cash flow would be directed to buybacks once priorities and balance sheet targets are met was accurate, and that repurchases would be done on a ratable basis. Management noted that $2.4 billion remained under the company’s $6 billion approved share repurchase program.
On Nevada Gold Mines, Viljoen said Newmont’s focus is working with the managing partner to improve performance and generate long-term value, and she noted Newmont has issued a notice of default related to operational performance and management. She said confidentiality provisions limit further comment beyond public disclosures.
About Newmont (NYSE:NEM)
Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) is a leading global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, processing and reclamation of gold properties. The company’s core business centers on the production of gold, with additional byproduct metals produced from its operations. Newmont operates a portfolio of long‑lived mines and development projects, and its activities span the full mine life cycle from early-stage exploration through to mining, milling and closure.
Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, Newmont has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.
