Why Wheaton Precious Metals Looks Different This Time Around
Wheaton Precious Metals stock (NYSE: WPM) just posted the biggest quarter in its 20-year history. Q1 2026 revenue hit $901 million. Net earnings came in at $582 million. Operating cash flow reached $766 million. All records from a company that does not operate a single mine.
The stock reflected that momentum. WPM traded around $120 in late 2025 and surged past $165 by early 2026 before pulling back to the $125 to $130 range. Even after the drop, the stock is still 50% higher than it was a year ago.
The reason is simple: gold and silver exploded higher.
Wheaton is a streaming company. It gives miners upfront cash in exchange for the right to buy future gold and silver production at fixed low prices. So when metals prices rise, Wheaton’s margins go through the roof.
In Q1 2026, Wheaton paid around $570 per ounce for gold while selling it for an average price of $4,849. That is more than $4,200 in margin per ounce. Silver prices were even wilder, averaging $84.52 per ounce in the quarter, up 161% year over year.
The company was already coming off a huge 2025. Full year revenue jumped 80% to $2.3 billion. Gross margins rose 108% to $1.67 billion. Production reached 690,000 gold equivalent ounces, beating guidance.
See how Wheaton’s financials compare to its peers, Newmont, Reliance, Hecla Mining, Barrick Mining, and Royal Gold.
Then came the biggest move of all. On April 1, 2026, Wheaton completed a massive $4.3 billion silver streaming deal with BHP tied to the Antamina mine in Peru. The agreement boosts Wheaton’s share of Antamina silver production to 67.5% for the life of the mine. It is the largest precious metals streaming deal ever completed.
Management kept 2026 production guidance unchanged at 860,000 to 940,000 gold equivalent ounces. Longer term, Wheaton expects annual production above 1.2 million GEOs between 2030 and 2035, helped by projects like Blackwater, Goose, and Platreef.
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The big things to watch now are metal prices, production ramp-ups, and cash generation after the $4.3 billion deal. The stock has cooled off from its highs, but for investors bullish on gold and silver long term, Wheaton still looks like one of the cleanest ways to play the trend.
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