SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)

[NYBob]

Gold Miner Earnings: Goldcorp & Barrick Gain as Results Shine -
ByJohn Kimelman Feb. 14, 2018 6:29 p.m. ET


https://www.barrons.com/articles/gold-miner-earnings-goldcorp-barrick-gain-as-results-shine-1518650994?mod=hp_RTA&;

Goldcorp (GG) got the earnings season for gold miners off to a nice
start with fourth-quarter profits that beat the Bloomberg consensus
by 17 cents. Shares were up 4% on Tuesday amid speculation that the
company would beat the Street, and the stock tacked on an additional
2.3% in after-hours trading.

Gold Miner Earnings: Goldcorp & Barrick Gain as Results Shine
ILLUSTRATION: BLOOMBERG NEWS
Then Barrick Gold (ABX), the world's biggest gold producer by ounces,
reported an adjusted net earnings result of 22 cents a share, which
beat the Bloomberg consensus estimate by a penny. Shares were up 1.5%
in after-hours trading.


Clearly Goldcorp, which Barron's touted in a lengthy feature story last
month, has the most to crow about with its results. Earnings for the
fourth quarter were $242 million, or $0.28 per share, compared to net
earnings of $101 million, or $0.12 per share, for the fourth quarter of
2016. That 28 cent result beat both the consensus of 11 cents a share
as well as the highest analyst estimate of 16 cents a share.

It's rare when gold miners perform in ways that exceed even the most
optimistic observers. Indeed, as we noted in a blog post Tuesday,
shares of Goldcorp and other major gold miners have underperformed
the metal itself in the past year, despite that fact that gold miners,
thanks to "earnings leverage," are supposed to best the metal when
the metal's price is riding. Barrick's stock has been an industry
laggard over the past year, losing roughly a third of its value.

Gold mining watchers also want to see that production levels are rising,
or at least not falling. And Goldcorp reported that gold production in
2017 exceeded the midpoint of the Company's gold production guidance of
2.5 million ounces, while the company's all-in sustained
cost of $824 per ounce for 2017 was in line with the Company's
improved midpoint guidance of $825 per ounce, "reflecting the progress
the Company has made on its sustainable efficiency program."

But for this battered sector, the real stock gains won't come with
Street-beating earnings; they'll come if and when the price of gold,
which has moved modestly higher in recent months, makes a meaningful
move higher.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/gold-miner-earnings-goldcorp-barrick-gain-as-results-shine-1518650994?mod=hp_RTA&;

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