The Zhitong Finance App learned that Barrick Mining (B.US) announced pre-market results for the third quarter of 2026 on November 9. Revenue for the quarter was US$5,073 billion, up 22% year on year and down 4% month on month; net profit attributable to shareholders of US$1,317 million, up 1% year on year, with earnings per share of $0.80; adjusted earnings per share of $0.82, up 41% year on year. The market had previously anticipated adjusted earnings of $0.79 per share and revenue of US$5.13 billion.
The increase in the price of gold was the main reason for the increase in revenue: the price of gold reached 4,243 US dollars/ounce during the quarter, an increase of 23% over the previous year. However, costs increased at the same time. The total cost of gold maintenance (AISC) rose to 1,911 US dollars/ounce, up 24% year over year; total cash cost was 1,386 US dollars/ounce, up 22%. The company claims that the cost pressure comes from a decline in selected grades, an increase in equity due to a rise in gold prices, a rise in the price of diesel and consumables, and the appreciation of some local currencies.
On the production side, gold production during the quarter was 816,000 ounces, up 3% month-on-month and 2% year-on-year down. The year-on-year decline was mainly due to extreme weather in Veladero and the postponement of high-grade mining in North Mara to the fourth quarter; if divested assets were excluded, gold production increased 6% year over year. Copper production for the quarter was 50,000 tons, down 9% year on year and 11% month on month.
In terms of cash flow, operating cash flow for the quarter was US$2,489 million, up 3% year on year; vested free cash flow was US$642 million, down 44% year on year, mainly due to a 53% year-on-year increase in attributable capital expenditure to US$1,157 million. The company repurchased shares of US$761 million during the quarter and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share, returning a total of US$1.04 billion to shareholders, an increase of 23% over the previous year; net cash at the end of the period was US$900 million, compared to US$300 million in the same period last year.
In terms of guidelines, the targets for annual gold production of 2.9 million to 3.25 million ounces and copper production of 190,000 to 220,000 tons remain unchanged; the full maintenance cost guide for gold is 1,760 to 1,950 US dollars/ounce, based on the assumption of a gold price of 4,500 US dollars/ounce. The annual accrued capital expenditure guideline was lowered from US$4 billion to US$4.45 billion to US$3.8 billion to US$4.2 billion, mainly due to the fact that the Reko Diq project is still under review and projected expenditure decreases.
After the earnings report was announced, Barrick rose 0.5% in the premarket.