AngloGold Ashanti plc AU delivered EBITDA of $4.3 billion in the first six months of 2026, marking a year-over-year surge of 82%. This upside was driven by higher equity earnings from associates and non-managed joint ventures, and lower costs related to legacy tailings storage facilities. Higher metal prices offset the year-over-year decrease in gold production.
AU’s gold production dipped 4% year over year in the first half of 2026, reflecting the sale of The Serra Grande mine in December 2025. Lower second-quarter production at Obuasi due to a contractor fatality in April 2026, and planned mine sequencing and maintenance across certain operations also led to the decline. However, the company expects the second-half 2026 production to be higher than the first half.
Gold production for 2026 is projected at 2.80-3.17 million ounces. This suggests a year-over-year dip of 3% at the mid-point due to cost pressures. The company expects 2027 production to be fairly at the same level as 2026, driven by continued ramp-up at Obuasi.
Despite the lower year-over-year production, the company posted gold revenues of $6.3 billion in the first half of 2026, which increased 43.8% year over year. A driver of the company's increased EBITDA performance is the company’s Full Asset Potential Program, which has been driving cost efficiencies and insulating operations against inflation. However, the increase in adjusted EBITDA was partially negated by headwinds from higher operating costs.
Nonetheless, gold prices have rallied 21.5% in a year, supported by geopolitical tensions, tariff concerns and continuous purchasing by central banks. Even though gold prices have dropped since peaking in January 2026, they have been supportive. Gold prices are currently trending around $4,323 per ounce. The upside in gold prices and better contribution from key assets in the second half of the year are likely to aid AngloGold Ashanti’s 2026 EBITDA.
AngloGold Ashanti Peers’ Performance
Newmont Corporation NEM reported adjusted EBITDA of $3.76 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Newmont’s revenues for the second quarter were $6.12 billion, up 15.1% from the prior-year quarter.
The company saw lower gold production for the second quarter, partly linked to its strategic divestment of non-core assets. Newmont reported a roughly 13% year-over-year and 1% sequential decline in attributable gold production to 1.29 million ounces. Newmont remains on track to achieve its previously announced 2026 guidance. The company expects attributable gold production of 5.26 million ounces.
Agnico Eagle Mines AEM reported adjusted EBITDA of $2.7 billion in the second quarter of 2026. It generated revenues of $3.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 35% year over year.
Agnico Eagle’s payable gold production was 855,816 ounces in the reported quarter, down 1.2% from 866,029 ounces in the prior-year quarter. For 2026, Agnico Eagle expects gold production near the lower end of its guidance of 3.3-3.5 million ounces, reflecting the preliminary redesign of the Barnat open pit at Canadian Malartic.
AU’s Price Performance, Valuations & Estimates
AngloGold Ashanti’s stock has rocketed 94.8% in a year, outperforming the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s 46.7% return. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has soared 31.1% and the S&P 500 has rallied 22.2%.
The AU stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month earnings multiple of 13.94X, which is a premium to the industry average of 12.97X.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AngloGold Ashanti’s 2026 sales is $12.03 billion, indicating a 23.7% year-over-year jump. The consensus mark for the year’s earnings is pegged at $8.14 per share, suggesting a year-over-year rally of 51.6%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2027 sales implies a 6.4% year-over-year dip. The same for earnings suggests a dip of 7%.
EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have moved south over the past 60 days.
AU currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).