Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. WPM reported a record operating cash flow of $766 million in the first quarter of 2026 compared with $361 million in the year-ago quarter. The upside was driven by a higher gross margin.
Wheaton Precious Metals had $2.16 billion in cash in hand at the end of the first quarter of 2026 compared with $1.15 billion at the end of 2025. After delivering record annual dividends of 66 cents per share in 2025, the company raised its first-quarter 2026 dividend 18% to 19.5 cents from the fourth quarter of 2025.
In the first quarter of 2026, gold-equivalent production rose 21.5% to 211,951 ounces, reflecting stronger output from Salobo and Peñasquito, Antamina and Blackwater, along with the recommencement of production at Aljustrel.
The company reaffirmed its 2026 attributable production guidance of 860,000-940,000 GEOs, with output expected to be weighted to the second half as Antamina’s added stream contributes from the second quarter and several newer mines continue ramping. The company expects production of 1.2 million GEOs by 2030, incorporating additional incremental production from the pre-development assets.
Anticipated production growth, driven by mine performances, along with the solid rally in gold prices, sets a positive outlook for the company's cash flow generation. Backed by this, the company expects to generate $10 billion in operating cash flow from 2026 to 2028 at base case commodity prices.
Recent Performances of Wheaton Precious Metals’ Peers
SSR Mining Inc. SSRM reported a free cash flow of $211 million for the first quarter of 2026. The company produced 109,914 gold equivalent ounces, which came within SSRM’s guidance. SSR Mining had produced 103,805 gold equivalent ounces in the year-ago quarter.
For 2026, SSR Mining expects gold-equivalent production of 450,000-535,000 ounces, indicating a year-over-year increase of 10% at the midpoint.
AngloGold Ashanti PLC AU delivered a record $1.2 billion in free cash flow in the first quarter of 2026, a 190% year-over-year whopping rise. The upside is driven by AngloGold Ashanti’s continued cost discipline, steady production and higher gold prices. AngloGold Ashanti’s gold production in the first quarter increased 1% year over year.
AngloGold Ashanti’s gold production for 2026 is projected at 2.80-3.17 million ounces. This suggests a year-over-year dip of 3% at the midpoint.
WPM’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Wheaton Precious Metals shares have gained 18.7% in a year compared with the industry's 36.3% growth. In comparison, the Zacks Basic Materials sector and the S&P 500 have returned 24.6% and 25.8%, respectively.
WPM is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings multiple of 22.57X, a premium to the industry average of 14.28X.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Wheaton Precious Metals’ 2026 sales is $3.71 billion, indicating a 60.4% year-over-year jump. The consensus mark for the year’s earnings is pegged at $4.78 per share, suggesting a year-over-year rally of 57.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2027 sales implies a 1.8% year-over-year rise. The same for earnings suggests a dip of 0.1%.
EPS estimates for 2026 have moved south, while the estimates for 2027 have moved north over the past 60 days.
WPM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 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).