Each of the five companies I’ve highlighted stands out in its own lane. Newmont is the heavyweight champ, Barrick pays the best dividends, Agnico brings growth, Kinross offers value, and Franco-Nevada delivers stability through its royalty model. All this institutional and macro momentum is turbocharging gold miner stocks. According to recent ETF flow data, gold ETFs are seeing their strongest inflows since 2022. Franco-Nevada is the cleanest way to play the upside in gold mine stocks without worrying about the operational risks that come with digging in the ground.

That aside, one of the best ways to invest in the gold market is through gold mining companies. They benefit from rising gold prices, as well as their ability to increase production and reduce costs. Consequently, top gold mining companies can often outperform the price of gold. The top-tier gold miners have low cost structures, manageable debt levels, and limited exposure to risky mining projects. We explore the best gold stocks for investors to watch in August 2025, based on 30-day returns.

• While he’s deeply engrossed in the world of precious metals, it’s essential to note that Archer is not a financial advisor.
• A major benefit of Franco-Nevada’s focus on royalties and streaming is that it reduces risk.
• While investors typically look to avoid entering a new position when it’s close to a record high, there are many reasons why it may still pay to invest in gold.
• The company pulled in $1.6 billion in net income in Q2 alone, with over $2.4 billion in operating cash flow.
• Projects like Odyssey in Canada and Detour Lake’s expansion are setting it up for even more production in the years ahead.

It’s the largest gold producer in the world, with operations across six continents. Royal Gold separates itself from the pack because it does not extract gold itself. Rather, the Denver, Colorado-based company acquires precious metals through long-term contracts with mining companies. Few would dispute the role that physical gold has as a store of value. It’s seen as a practical way to gain portfolio exposure without the headache of physical ownership.

Barrick Mining – The Global Growth Story

• Franco-Nevada is the cleanest way to play the upside in gold mine stocks without worrying about the operational risks that come with digging in the ground.
• The company also repurchased over $250 million in stock this quarter, proving management is serious about rewarding shareholders.
• When gold climbs, gold miner stocks often outperform because their profit margins expand.
• As bullion prices rise, the company captures upside through existing royalties while avoiding the cost inflation and operational challenges facing traditional miners.

With gold prices expected to hold above $3,800, Newmont’s scale, diversified assets, and strong cash flow position it for significant upside. These FAQs provide a snapshot of the considerations involved in investing in gold mining stocks, highlighting the balance of risk and potential reward. Each of these gold mining stocks presents unique opportunities and challenges, reflecting the diverse nature of the gold mining industry. From ETFs like VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF to individual companies with specific operational focuses, these stocks cater to a range of investment strategies and risk tolerances.

Remember, gold stocks can add both value and stability to your portfolio, but like all investments, they come with risks that should be carefully considered. The precious metal stock has a market cap of $7 billion and an EPS of $3.04. Royal Gold trades more than 92,000 shares per day and generated revenue of $423 million in 2019. Barrick Gold Corp is one of the world’s largest gold producers, operating mines in North America, South America, Australia, and Africa. The company segments consist of nine gold mines namely Carlin, Cortez, Turquoise Ridge, Pueblo Viejo, Loulo-Gounkoto, Kibali, Veladero, North Mara, and Bulyanhulu. Geographically, it derives a majority of revenue from the United States.

Franco-Nevada Corporation – The Premium Royalty Play

With the Altimeter ranking, stocks are assigned letter grades A through F based on an accounting analysis that combs through company financial statements. But New Gold has ushered in a positive 2025 performance, enough to merit its inclusion into the TSX30. That’s the Toronto Stock Exchange list of the top 30 highest performing stocks in terms of share appreciation.

Gold is the ultimate ‘low-trust asset’. A look at 3 miners in our Best Stocks list

As its name suggests, this North American mining company primarily focuses on producing silver. PAAS, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, also focuses on mining other materials like zinc, lead, copper and gold. In terms of AEM‘s financial health, the company carries little debt, with a low debt-to-equity ratio and a projected double-digit EPS for the next five years. Also noteworthy, AEM boasts an attractive forward P/E, suggesting its attractively priced based on its future earning potential. Gold is easy to invest in, so yes, investing in gold is a great investment for beginners.

Investing

Investing in gold is always a good investment if you are looking to balance your portfolio. Gold stocks could serve as a hedge to stocks you hold from other economic sectors. Gold stocks can also be traded speculatively in the current economic environment. The total cash consideration is priced at $61.3 million and the transaction is expected to close by October 2020. For exposure to gold without the headaches of running mines, Franco-Nevada (FNV) is the stock. What I personally really like is that Agnico isn’t coasting on existing mines.

The company pulled in $1.6 billion in net income in Q2 alone, with over $2.4 billion in operating cash flow. Sitting on more than $6 billion in cash reserves, Newmont has the balance sheet to weather downturns and keep rewarding shareholders. Every investment has advantages and disadvantages—gold stocks are no different. This is evidenced by the performance of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which is up more than 80% over the past year. Both physical gold and gold stocks have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Many factors affect the price of gold, including monetary policy and inflation. For years, gold was the top choice of investors seeking to hedge against these risks. However, cryptocurrencies could cause gold and other precious metals to lose their luster, an emerging risk that investors need to monitor. Franco-Nevada has increased its dividend each year since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2008, hitting a milestone of 18 consecutive years in 2025. The company also boasts a debt-free balance sheet — a rarity in the mining industry — giving it even more financial flexibility to invest in new royalty and streaming agreements.

Finally, we ranked all remaining gold mining companies based on highest 30-day return and excluded any with a negative return during that period. Higher gold prices widen profit margins, ramp up free cash flow, and give miners the luxury to invest, pay dividends, and buy back shares. That massive level of support from central banks and investors is why gold mining stocks are getting so much attention. In 2025, with gold prices pushing record highs and demand holding steady, investors don’t just want physical bars and coins. They’re turning to gold mining stocks as a way to tap into the upside of rising gold prices while also gaining the benefits of dividends, growth potential, and global exposure.

Understanding Gold Mining Stocks

But by blending these categories, you can build a portfolio that captures the upside of top gold mining stocks while balancing income, growth, and risk. If you’re bullish on gold in 2025, these five names deserve a spot on your watchlist. Franco-Nevada is a Canada-based gold-focused streaming and royalty company.

It’s debt-free, highly diversified, and sitting on plenty of capital to fund new deals. If you want a gold stock with real upside, Agnico Eagle (AEM) is a top pick. This company has quietly built one of the strongest growth pipelines in the entire sector, and 2025 is showing exactly what that means. Gold mining is the practice of extracting gold ore from the earth and processing it into gold bullion. Gold streaming is the provision of upfront financing of gold miners in exchange for the option to buy finished gold bullion at a discount in the future. Typically, gold holds its value, so gold stocks are considered a good investment.

One of the key potential disadvantages of an investment in a gold-mining stock is that most of these companies do not focus exclusively on gold. This means they are not pure-play gold investments and that they are also subject to fluctuations in other minerals covered by the operations as well. Mining firms tend to have operations scattered around the world in many different locations, so regulations can vary dramatically from one site to another. Monitoring the impact of these regulations can be difficult for investors. Of course, mining firms are also exposed to many other risks and factors that may separate their performance from that of physical gold. And when gold rises, there is no guarantee that the price of shares of a mining firm will also climb.

Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS)

But you’ll need to examine your own investing approach and risk tolerance before deciding which is the best gold stock for you. From your brokerage account, choose the stock you want to buy, the price at which you want to purchase it and how many shares of the stock you wish to own. As a gold streamer, RGLD has reduced exposure to operational and geopolitical risks. And it’s also better insulated with its capital light business model. The stock boasts consistent EPS growth over the past five years and is projected to continue positive EPS growth.

The gold ETF enables investors to easily own a diverse, high-quality group of large-scale gold companies. The ETF also has a reasonable expense ratio of 0.51%, making it a relatively cost-effective way to invest in many gold stocks. Investors buy gold to hedge against risks such as rising inflation, geopolitical events, and financial crises. Gold is typically a “flight to quality” investment with lower correlations to the gold mining stocks overall market.

By making informed choices, you can build a gold stock portfolio that aligns with your long-term financial objectives. In the following sections, you’ll find a selection of the best gold mining stocks available on the market today. Keep in mind that my ranking is based on a combination of factors such as production output, financial stability, growth potential, and exposure to gold prices. Different investors may value other aspects, such as dividend yields or geographic diversification, so this list should be seen as a starting point for further research.