Newmont, which mines gold and other metals, generated $2.21 billion after paying for property, equipment and mine development in the second quarter of 2026, as higher realized gold prices than a year earlier outweighed fewer ounces sold. Across the first half, that cash surplus reached $5.35 billion, enough to cover cash dividends and share repurchases. The stronger cash position gives Newmont room to invest, while recovering disrupted production remains an operating priority. Lower realized gold and silver prices than in the first quarter and a heavier construction schedule make the first half's cash surplus an uncertain guide to the remainder of the year.
Reporting basis: Newmont Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; unaudited U.S. GAAP Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, filed July 23, 2026; CIK 0001164727; accession 0001164727-26-000036. GAAP refers to the U.S. accounting rules used in the financial statements. Quarterly comparisons cover April–June; first-half comparisons cover January–June. Balance-sheet comparisons are June 30, 2026 versus December 31, 2025. Information cutoff: July 23, 2026. Dollar amounts are U.S. dollars unless stated otherwise. Later developments are outside this assessment.
Sources: SEC filing record, July 23, 2026; Form 10-Q, statements of operations and cash flows, pp. 6–9; company-hosted complete Form 10-Q PDF; July 23 earnings release, quarterly results and cash-flow discussion, pp. 3–4.
1. Higher prices overcame fewer ounces, but earlier asset-sale gains slowed profit growth
Newmont sells gold into a worldwide trading market and says it does not depend economically on a small group of customers. Its other major metals are sold mainly as concentrates—material containing metal that requires further processing. The competitive task is to develop useful ore deposits and control the cost of extracting them. A higher market price can help many producers at once; it does not by itself show that Newmont is mining better.
Source: 2025 Form 10-K, Competition and Note 5, Revenue by Major Customer.
Newmont reported an average realized gold price of $4,414 per ounce in the quarter, up from $3,320 a year earlier. This measures revenue per ounce sold, including pricing adjustments and processing charges; it is not a measure of cash collected during the quarter. Gold sales fell from 1.380 million ounces to 1.195 million.
The gold revenue increase came from price, while volume reduced it. The company's explanation of the revenue change assigns a $1.304 billion benefit to higher realized gold prices, a $615 million reduction to fewer ounces sold, and a $5 million benefit to treatment and refining charges.
Gold generated most of the quarter's revenue growth. Silver added another $153 million, almost entirely through higher realized prices. Copper revenue declined despite stronger prices because sales volumes fell. These movements describe a business benefiting from metal markets while selling less gold and copper.
The table separates profit belonging to Newmont stockholders from a subtotal before interest, other income, taxes and affiliate earnings. That subtotal subtracts all reported costs and expenses from revenue, including the effect of gains from asset sales.
| Consolidated results; dollars in millions except per-share amounts | Second quarter 2025 | Second quarter 2026 | First half 2025 | First half 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 5,317 | 6,118 | 10,327 | 13,425 |
| Costs applicable to sales, excluding depreciation and reclamation | 2,001 | 2,088 | 4,107 | 4,025 |
| Depreciation and amortization | 620 | 604 | 1,213 | 1,236 |
| Operating subtotal, calculated from reported revenue less costs and expenses | 3,068 | 3,096 | 5,317 | 7,562 |
| Operating subtotal as a share of revenue, calculated | 57.7% | 50.6% | 51.5% | 56.3% |
| Net income attributable to Newmont stockholders | 2,061 | 2,202 | 3,952 | 5,464 |
| Stockholders' net income as a share of revenue, calculated | 38.8% | 36.0% | 38.3% | 40.7% |
| Diluted earnings per share, dollars | 1.85 | 2.06 | 3.53 | 5.07 |
Reporting basis: The operating subtotal is a calculation from GAAP statement lines, not a separately reported operating-profit measure or an adjusted earnings figure. It includes gains on sales of assets held for sale. Stockholders' net income excludes earnings belonging to minority owners of consolidated operations.
Sources: Form 10-Q, statement of operations, p. 6; revenue analysis, pp. 36–39.
Quarterly revenue rose 15.1%, but stockholders' profit rose only 6.8%. The comparison includes unusually large gains in the prior year. Gains on sales of assets held for sale fell from $699 million to $5 million, while investment and option valuations moved from a $151 million gain to a $111 million loss. Both comparisons are before tax; subtracting them directly from stockholders' profit would mix accounting bases.
The much smaller asset-sale gain helps explain why the operating subtotal barely increased despite much higher revenue. After other income and interest, income before income and mining taxes and affiliate earnings fell by $119 million. A $140 million reduction in tax expense and a $155 million increase in affiliate earnings more than offset that decline, while minority owners' earnings increased by $35 million. Together, those changes reconcile the $141 million increase in Newmont stockholders' profit.
Affiliate earnings are Newmont's share of profit from businesses it partly owns and accounts for separately from its consolidated operations. These earnings also need a distinction between ongoing mine earnings and transactions. Pueblo Viejo contributed $101 million versus $15 million, and Lundin Gold contributed $77 million versus $37 million. Norte Abierto contributed $25 million versus $1 million, with the current period including a property-sale gain.
Lundin Gold is reported one quarter behind. The affiliate increase therefore should not all be treated as a same-quarter improvement in mine production.
The tax comparison provided additional support. The reported quarterly effective rate declined from approximately 35% to 32%. The current quarter included a $26 million benefit from changes in the amount of future tax benefits Newmont expects to use, and a $40 million benefit from adjusting reserves for uncertain tax positions. Those accounting benefits do not establish a permanent reduction in the company's cash tax burden.
Sources: Form 10-Q, Notes 7–9, pp. 22–23; Note 12, pp. 27–28; statement of operations, p. 6.
The first-half comparison is stronger: revenue rose 30.0% and stockholders' profit rose 38.3%. Yet the apparent reduction in production costs also needs context. Costs applicable to sales declined by $82 million, while divested mines removed $312 million of costs. Excluding that removal, the remaining reported cost base increased by $230 million.
This is not a same-mine cost calculation because it includes the new Ahafo North operation. Management identified new production there, higher direct costs at Boddington, and higher royalties and workers' participation charges as important pressures. Some payments to governments, royalty holders and workers rise when metal prices rise.
Lower consulting and labor costs reduced first-half general and administrative expense from $205 million to $153 million, but this saving was much smaller than the revenue benefit from gold prices. Newmont's improved earnings reflect stronger selling prices more clearly than a broad reduction in mining costs.
Source: Form 10-Q, management's discussion of costs, depreciation, administration and taxes, pp. 39–40.
2. Production fell mainly at mines Newmont retained
Newmont sold non-core operations after reviewing the portfolio enlarged by its Newcrest acquisition. Management's stated purpose was to concentrate its efforts on the remaining mines and projects. Those sales reduced the number of mines it runs and released cash, while also removing their future production.
Divested sites accounted for $50 million of the second-quarter revenue reduction identified in the company's comparison, versus $628 million over the first half. Production data provide the direct test: the sold mines contributed 14,000 attributable ounces in the prior-year quarter, while total attributable production fell by 185,000 ounces. The retained portfolio accounted for most of the quarterly production decline.
| Gold production; thousand ounces, scope specified below | Second quarter 2025 | Second quarter 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Total attributable portfolio | 1,478 | 1,293 |
| Retained portfolio, attributable | 1,464 | 1,293 |
| Divested mines, attributable | 14 | 0 |
| Cadia, Australia | 104 | 34 |
| Ahafo South, Ghana | 197 | 100 |
| Ahafo North, Ghana | 0 | 68 |
| Peñasquito, Mexico | 148 | 37 |
| Boddington, Australia | 147 | 160 |
| Nevada Gold Mines, Newmont's 38.5% share | 239 | 240 |
Reporting basis: Attributable production measures Newmont's ownership share, including its share of production from certain separately accounted-for investments. The first three rows reconcile total production; the remaining rows show selected contributors and should not be added to those totals. Selected site rows are on the filing's consolidated basis, with Nevada Gold Mines included at Newmont's 38.5% share. Ahafo North began commercial production in October 2025. These are produced ounces, not sold ounces.
Sources: Form 10-Q, Notes 1 and 3; revenue comparison, p. 39; production table and site explanations, pp. 41–47; July 23 earnings release, Operating Results, attributable gold production; 2025 Form 10-K, Divestiture of Non-Core Assets; Newmont's February 22, 2024 portfolio and capital-allocation announcement.
At Cadia, seismic activity on April 14 interrupted underground mining. Processing continued using previously mined material until those stocks were substantially depleted on May 11. The filing says underground mining and processing restarted progressively in mid-June, with production expected to regain pre-event levels in the third quarter. It records $28 million of incremental and non-productive direct operating costs, but that amount does not capture all effects of lost output, inventory write-downs or delayed sales.
There is a meaningful difference in management's descriptions. The earnings release says operations returned to normal levels in mid-June, whereas the filing describes a progressive restart and a third-quarter production recovery. The narrower conclusion supported by both is that operations restarted in June; full production recovery remained a result to verify. Cadia's gold output fell about two-thirds, and copper production fell from 22,000 to 7,000 tonnes.
Sources: Form 10-Q, Note 7, p. 22; operating results, pp. 42–45; July 23 earnings release, second-quarter production summary, p. 3.
At Ahafo South, lower gold content in the ore and less ore processed reduced output. Ahafo North supplied new ounces, but the two Ghana operations together produced 168,000 ounces against Ahafo South's 197,000 a year earlier. At Peñasquito, the scheduled sequence of mining areas yielded lower-grade ore. Higher organic carbon in the material also reduced how much metal the plant recovered.
New capacity helped, but it did not fully replace the lost ounces at these operations. These year-over-year declines do not, by themselves, establish missed production plans: planned changes in the ore being mined also affected output. There was counterevidence to a decline across all operations. Boddington produced more gold from richer ore, Merian's consolidated gold output rose from 53,000 to 74,000 ounces, and Nevada Gold Mines remained broadly steady.
Nevada Gold Mines is operated by Barrick, so its stable quarterly output should not be treated as evidence of Newmont's direct operating execution. Newmont also disclosed a February 3 notice of default alleging mismanagement and diversion of joint-venture resources toward Barrick's Fourmile project. These are Newmont's allegations, not an established finding of wrongdoing. The dispute adds an operating-governance risk to an otherwise steady quarterly production contribution.
Sources: Form 10-Q, joint-venture discussion, p. 35; operating results and site explanations, pp. 42–46; Newmont's February 9, 2026 statement on North American joint ventures.
A further comparison trap concerns costs per ounce. Newmont reports one measure that allocates costs across the metals it produces and another that credits other-metal sales against the cost of gold. Under the second approach, gold all-in sustaining cost was $1,621 per ounce, versus $1,375 a year earlier. This company-defined measure includes selected spending needed to keep mines operating and is not a standardized GAAP measure.
Strong silver and copper sales can improve that measure without reducing the mine's total bills. The filing also changed the prices used to translate other metals into “gold equivalent ounces,” a common unit for comparing different metals. That mathematical change alone reduced calculated other-metal production by 72,000 equivalent ounces in the quarter. It does not represent a physical loss of metal.
Actual tonnes and ounces, together with total costs, provide the clearer test of operational progress.
Sources: July 23 earnings release, summary of results and non-GAAP cost reconciliations; Form 10-Q, gold-equivalent methodology, p. 41.
3. Operations funded construction and shareholder payments
Newmont covered first-half mine investment, cash dividends and share repurchases from operating cash flow. Operating cash flow is the cash generated after paying operating bills and taxes, including the timing effects of collections and payments. Free cash flow here means that amount minus cash additions to property, plant and mine development, including interest assigned to construction costs.
| Cash allocation; consolidated, dollars in millions | First half 2025 | First half 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash generated by operating activities | 4,415 | 6,709 |
| Cash property, plant and mine-development spending | 1,500 | 1,360 |
| Free cash flow, calculated | 2,915 | 5,349 |
| Cash dividends paid to common stockholders | 561 | 559 |
| Cash common-stock repurchases | 1,359 | 3,462 |
| Remainder after those shareholder payments, calculated | 995 | 1,328 |
Reporting basis: Spending and distributions are shown as positive uses of cash. The remainder is not the increase in cash; other investment, financing and currency movements still apply. Free cash flow is non-GAAP and is not cash available without further obligations.
Source: Form 10-Q, cash-flow statement, p. 9; free-cash-flow reconciliation, Non-GAAP Financial Measures.
The cash result was not simply equal to reported profit. Consolidated first-half net income of $5.579 billion included charges that did not require current cash payments, especially $1.236 billion of depreciation and amortization. These charges spread the cost of long-lived assets across the periods in which they are used. All listed noncash adjustments added a net $1.422 billion to profit in the cash-flow reconciliation.
Changes in operating assets and liabilities then used $292 million, producing operating cash flow of $6.709 billion. Collections helped: trade and other receivables released $531 million, meaning cash arrived for amounts previously recorded as owed. An increase in accounts payable provided $102 million because some supplier bills had not yet been paid.
Against this, inventories and mined material awaiting processing used $283 million. Reclamation and remediation payments used $458 million, and other accrued liabilities used $284 million as previously recognized obligations were paid or reduced.
Income and mining taxes paid, net of refunds, rose from $1.113 billion to $2.349 billion. The $146 million deferred-tax subtraction in the profit-to-cash reconciliation is an accounting adjustment for differences between when taxes enter profit and when they are payable. It is not a separate cash saving to add again. Operating cash flow increased 52.0% despite the larger cash tax payments, supported by higher earnings and changes in noncash adjustments.
Source: Form 10-Q, cash-flow statement and tax-payment footnote, p. 9.
The quarter also shows why the first-half total should not be extrapolated. Second-quarter operating cash flow was $2.924 billion, up from $2.384 billion a year earlier but below the first quarter's $3.785 billion. After $719 million of property and mine spending, second-quarter free cash flow was $2.205 billion, down from $3.144 billion in the first quarter. Gold's realized price fell 9.9% between those quarters.
Second-quarter receivable movements released $461 million, principally at Peñasquito and Cadia, while payables supplied $84 million. Management warned that some of these favorable movements could reverse as production, shipments and collections normalize. The cash surplus is substantial, but its size depends on both metal prices and when customers and suppliers settle their bills.
Asset disposals played a much smaller cash role than in the prior year. Cash proceeds from sales of mining operations and other assets fell from $2.675 billion to $100 million. With other investment flows included, investing activities used $1.033 billion, while financing activities used $4.301 billion. After a $16 million adverse currency effect, cash including restricted balances increased from $7.684 billion to $9.043 billion.
Thus the larger operating surplus replaced much of the prior year's contribution from disposal proceeds.
Source: Form 10-Q, cash-flow statement, p. 9.
4. Investment is shifting toward a busier second half
Management's investment program aims to maintain existing mines and reach ore that will support future production. Lower first-half cash spending does not mean the full-year construction task has become smaller. Newmont retained guidance for $1.95 billion of sustaining investment and $1.40 billion of development investment on its attributable reporting basis, which reflects its ownership share.
Against those plans, first-half spending on the same disclosed basis was $819 million and $524 million respectively. That leaves approximately $2.01 billion for the second half, a calculation from management's guidance rather than a new cash forecast. These amounts should not be directly substituted for the consolidated cash-flow statement's investment line: ownership scope, capitalized interest and accounting timing differ.
The filing supplies a separate reconciliation. Consolidated first-half investment recorded as work was incurred totaled $1.420 billion: $840 million sustaining and $580 million development. Net noncash adjustments and hedging effects reduced that amount by $60 million to the $1.360 billion cash payment. This disclosed split, rather than a comparison with depreciation, shows the purpose of spending.
Sources: July 23 earnings release, capital allocation framework and 2026 guidance, pp. 2 and 5; Form 10-Q, capital expenditure table, pp. 50–51.
Tanami Expansion 2 adds a shaft to move ore more efficiently and extend the mine's operating life. The annual filing targeted commercial production in the second half of 2027, with total project capital of $1.7–$1.8 billion. At June 2026, disclosed development spending since approval was $1.427 billion, including $123 million in the first half, excluding capitalized interest and depreciation. Its intended operating benefit is therefore mainly beyond the current year.
Cadia's underground development is similarly a multiyear investment. The second-half schedule includes work delayed by the seismic event. Management also expects more spending on Lihir's Nearshore Barrier, Cerro Negro's expansion and facilities that contain mining waste. Delayed construction can improve current cash flow while moving the cash requirement into a later period; it does not automatically represent a saving.
Sources: 2025 Form 10-K, project pipeline, p. 5, and capital resources discussion; company-hosted 2025 Form 10-K PDF; Form 10-Q, capital expenditure discussion, p. 51; July 23 earnings release, second-half investment commentary, p. 6.
Red Chris offers a separate longer-term opportunity. British Columbia confirmed expansion approvals on June 19 after a process involving Tahltan consent. The project would move mining underground and expand processing capacity; Newmont owns 70%, with Imperial Metals owning 30%.
Regulatory approval removes an important obstacle, but Newmont still described the project as advancing toward a final investment decision. It is not evidence that all construction spending or future output has been committed.
Sources: British Columbia, “B.C. approves Red Chris mine expansion,” June 19, 2026; July 23 earnings release, Red Chris approval discussion.
For 2026, management retained approximately 5.3 million attributable gold ounces of production guidance; the detailed midpoint is 5.260 million. Its guidance table presents estimates with a plus-or-minus 5% range, while warning that actual results could fall outside it. First-half output was 2.594 million ounces, and the outlook placed about 51% of annual production in the second half.
That outlook does not assume every mine improves. Management expected higher second-half production mainly from Boddington, Tanami, Lihir, Cerro Negro and Brucejack, partly offset by lower output at Yanacocha, Ahafo South and Merian. Ahafo North was expected to increase production sequentially through the year.
Third-quarter output was expected to be broadly similar to the second quarter, leaving several mines dependent on a stronger fourth quarter. More investment is scheduled before all its benefits arrive. Restoring disrupted operations and delivering the planned production mix therefore matter more than expecting a rebound at every mine.
Source: July 23 earnings release, operating results, full-year guidance and seasonality commentary, pp. 3–6.
5. More cash improves flexibility, while ore and closure obligations still tie up resources
Newmont's immediate financing position strengthened even as it continued to spend heavily. Cash exceeded recorded debt and lease and other financing obligations, and there were no scheduled debt principal repayments through 2028. That gives management time to address operating problems without a near-term bond maturity forcing the timetable.
| Consolidated financial position; dollars in millions | December 31, 2025 | June 30, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 7,647 | 9,009 |
| Trade receivables | 1,067 | 686 |
| Inventories | 1,512 | 1,478 |
| Stockpiles and ore on leach pads, current and non-current | 3,587 | 3,857 |
| Property, plant and mine development, net | 33,310 | 33,583 |
| Investments, current and non-current | 4,780 | 4,122 |
| Goodwill | 2,658 | 2,658 |
| Total assets | 57,121 | 57,641 |
| Total liabilities | 23,079 | 22,227 |
| Total equity, including minority owners | 34,042 | 35,414 |
Source: Form 10-Q, consolidated balance sheets, p. 8; Notes 12–15, pp. 27–29.
The composition of assets matters more than their modest overall increase. Trade receivables fell by $381 million and other receivables fell by $186 million. Most trade receivables arise from concentrate and other production sales whose final price is set later, so both collections and changing metal prices affect the balance.
Materials and supplies increased even though total inventories declined slightly. Meanwhile, the cost carried in stockpiles and ore awaiting further recovery rose by $270 million. Mining material uses cash before the metal is sold, so the larger balance represents more resources awaiting conversion into revenue and collections. It is not, by itself, a measure of cash spent during the period.
Net property and mine assets rose by $273 million as investment and other movements exceeded depreciation and related reductions. Goodwill—the acquisition value recorded beyond separately identified net assets—was unchanged. Neither a stable goodwill balance nor more capitalized mine spending proves that future business returns have improved. The filing identifies metal-price assumptions as important to whether these assets can recover their recorded cost.
Sources: Form 10-Q, balance sheets, p. 8; Notes 2, 5, 13 and 14.
Investment balances also changed for reasons other than investment losses. Newmont sold its remaining Greatland shares for $134 million and SolGold shares for $116 million. The Greatland option liability, previously $339 million, disappeared when the option was exercised.
Separately, Newmont received LunR shares valued at $268 million as a noncash distribution from Lundin Gold. Those shares reduced the recorded value of the Lundin investment and created a marketable-security holding; they were not operating cash receipts.
Liabilities fell by $852 million. Besides the option settlement, important movements included lower closure obligations, a $194 million reduction in deferred tax liabilities and lower employee-related balances. Accounts payable and current income and mining taxes payable increased. These are different claims on cash, so the overall liability decline should not be described as debt repayment: recorded debt declined by only $32 million.
Source: Form 10-Q, balance sheets, p. 8; Notes 12, 15 and 16.
At June 30, debt's recorded amount was $5.083 billion, while its contractual principal was $5.301 billion. The difference reflects discounts, premiums and issuance costs that are recognized over the debt's life. Principal maturities were $265 million in 2029, $655 million in 2030 and $4.381 billion thereafter. The unused $4 billion revolving credit facility—a borrowing line available when needed—matures in February 2029. That makes 2029 the first debt-maturity and credit-renewal checkpoint.
The credit agreement limits net debt, meaning debt after subtracting cash, to 62.5% of total capitalization under its funding-ratio test, alongside other restrictions. Newmont reported compliance. Its separately disclosed non-GAAP net cash of $3.411 billion equals $9.009 billion cash less $5.083 billion recorded debt and $515 million of lease and other financing obligations. That calculation does not extinguish operating liabilities, taxes or mine-closure promises.
Sources: Form 10-Q, Note 15, pp. 28–29; liquidity and debt discussion, pp. 48–52; net-debt reconciliation; 2025 Form 10-K, Note 20, revolving facility and debt covenants.
Interest remains a cash commitment even without imminent principal maturities. The year-end contractual schedule estimated $2.899 billion of future senior-note interest over the debt's remaining life, including $239 million due in 2026, assuming no early retirement.
First-half 2026 interest expense was $74 million after interest assigned to construction assets, down from $144 million. Management attributed the decrease to both lower debt and more interest being added to asset costs rather than charged immediately against profit. The decline in reported expense therefore does not entirely represent a reduction in borrowing cost.
Lease and other financing obligations rose from $474 million to $515 million. Operating leases are recorded separately within other liabilities. The year-end schedule showed $123 million of operating-lease payments and $608 million of finance-lease payments before discounting future amounts, with $33 million and $119 million respectively due during 2026.
Those are December schedules, not newly measured June balances; the quarterly filing reported no material contractual changes outside ordinary business. Liquidity is ample, but these commitments still absorb part of future cash generation.
Sources: 2025 Form 10-K, Contractual Obligations and Note 21; Form 10-Q, balance sheets, interest discussion and Contractual Obligations.
6. Repurchases reduced the share count while earnings rebuilt equity
Management says repurchases return cash to shareholders and allow a broadly fixed total dividend budget to be divided among fewer shares. Buybacks helped earnings per share grow faster than total profit, but they also used most of the first-half cash left after mine investment. Cash repurchases were $3.462 billion, compared with $1.359 billion a year earlier.
Second-quarter diluted weighted-average shares declined from 1.112 billion to 1.067 billion, or 4.0%. This measure averages the share count across the quarter and includes the potential effect of employee awards. Stockholders' profit increased 6.8%, while reported diluted earnings per share increased 11.4%. Employee awards added approximately 2 million diluted shares in each quarter, a much smaller effect than the reduction from repurchases.
The share-accounting details matter. The equity statement records approximately 31 million shares repurchased and retired in the first half and approximately 1 million issued for stock-based awards, using rounded million-share figures. Retirement cancels shares rather than simply holding them in treasury. Treasury shares remained approximately 7 million, while their recorded cost rose by $47 million because of shares withheld for employee taxes.
Sources: Form 10-Q, statements of operations and changes in equity, pp. 6 and 10; capital resources discussion, pp. 49–50; July 23 earnings release, capital allocation framework.
Total equity—the recorded assets remaining after liabilities—rose by $1.372 billion to $35.414 billion because profit more than covered distributions and repurchase accounting. Retained earnings record accumulated profits after dividends and other charges to that account; they are not a cash balance. This account rose from $3.431 billion to $5.716 billion: $5.464 billion of stockholders' profit was partly offset by $558 million of declared dividends and $2.621 billion charged there for share retirements.
Additional paid-in capital, a separate account for shareholder capital, fell by $790 million. This mainly reflected the other portion of those retirements, partly offset by award-related entries.
Accumulated other comprehensive income, which records certain changes outside current net income, declined by $23 million. A $27 million after-tax loss on contracts used to reduce changes in future cash payments or receipts—cash-flow hedges—was partly offset by $4 million of other adjustments. The equity statement's $3.497 billion repurchase-and-retirement charge differs from cash repurchases of $3.462 billion; the cash analysis uses the latter. It likewise uses $559 million of dividends paid rather than $558 million declared.
Newmont disclosed another $606 million of repurchases after June 30 through the filing date. That spending is outside the first-half cash-flow table. Continued repurchases therefore compete with the heavier construction schedule for later cash, although the authorization is discretionary and can be suspended.
7. Closure spending and government claims limit how freely cash can be used
Mining obligations continue long after ore extraction ends. A lower recorded closure liability largely reflected cash being spent, not the disappearance of environmental work. Combined reclamation and remediation liabilities declined from $7.190 billion to $6.879 billion. Payments of $458 million exceeded $149 million of expense from the passage of time, with a further $2 million net reduction from estimate changes and other movements.
Yanacocha accounted for $3.581 billion of reclamation liabilities at June 30. Newmont spent $351 million on its water-treatment plants during the first half. Management estimated total plant spending of approximately $1.8 billion, with $1.1 billion spent to date, and expected the two new plants to operate during 2027. The plants support compliance and post-closure water management; their spending should not be presented as new gold-production capacity.
Newmont expected approximately $850 million of portfolio reclamation spending in 2026 and a reduction to $300–$400 million in 2028. Those are management expectations. Ongoing studies of water management, waste-storage facilities and post-closure requirements could increase the obligation. The first-half $458 million payment is already deducted in operating cash flow and must not be subtracted again from free cash flow.
Sources: Form 10-Q, Note 6, pp. 21–22; Note 17, Yanacocha, p. 30; July 23 earnings release, Committed to Concurrent Reclamation, p. 7.
Ghana also keeps more of the benefit when gold prices rise. After the stability agreement expired, the corporate income-tax ceiling applicable to Newmont's Ghanaian operations increased from 32.5% to 35%. The March 2026 royalty framework ranges from 5% to 12% of gold revenue according to prices. A separate levy fell from 3% to 1% of gross revenue effective April 1.
Higher royalties partly offset the benefit of stronger gold prices at Ahafo, while the levy reduction provides some counterweight. This is especially relevant because Ahafo North is adding production while Ahafo South's lower output raises costs per ounce. More production would spread mine costs across more ounces, but it would not restore the expired tax terms. The fiscal change limits how much additional revenue can become cash retained by Newmont.
Several contingent exposures deserve attention because they can create cash demands or interrupt production:
- Lihir: A Papua New Guinea waste-oil directive and enforcement notice could restrict permitted activities. No enforcement action had been taken by the filing date, and administrative discussions continued. The disclosed risk concerns continuity of operations, not just the small administrative penalty.
- Cadia: A February 2026 class action alleges land, water and air contamination and seeks unspecified damages and other relief. Newmont could not reasonably predict the outcome.
- Los Filos: Equinox demanded approximately $114 million plus inflation adjustments under a tax allocation agreement in June 2026. Newmont disputed liability. This is a counterparty's demand, not an established loss.
- Holt royalty: International Royalty Corporation seeks $350 million in alleged royalty payments. The case remained in discovery, and Newmont could not predict the outcome.
- Divested CC&V: Newmont retained responsibility for 90% of specified closure costs above $500 million, without a maximum payment cap. Selling the mine did not remove that exposure. The agreement allows Newmont to settle the indemnification through a one-time payment at specified milestones.
The Australian tax dispute involved an assessment of approximately $85 million including interest and penalties, with $24 million previously paid. A court-appointed referee's July 2026 valuation report supported Newmont's position on the relevant asset test, but final orders remained pending.
Ghana litigation also challenges mining before parliamentary ratification, and securities and derivative lawsuits remained unresolved. The filing does not provide a reliable aggregate loss range for these matters, so adding claims together would manufacture a forecast of cash losses.
Source: Form 10-Q, Notes 3 and 17, pp. 13 and 29–34.
8. The cash surplus reconciles without counting closure payments twice
The comparisons use matching periods and distinguish consolidated cash from attributable production. Consolidated figures follow the accounting scope of Newmont's financial statements. Attributable production measures its ownership share of output, including certain investments accounted for separately.
Calculation notes: The following calculations use reported amounts in millions unless another unit is specified.
- Growth equals current-period amount divided by the same prior-year period, minus one. Quarterly revenue: 6,118 / 5,317 − 1 = 15.1%; stockholders' profit: 2,202 / 2,061 − 1 = 6.8%. First-half revenue: 13,425 / 10,327 − 1 = 30.0%; stockholders' profit: 5,464 / 3,952 − 1 = 38.3%.
- Gold price: 4,414 / 3,320 − 1 = 33.0%; quarterly gold sales volume: 1,195 / 1,380 − 1 = −13.4%. The disclosed gold revenue reconciliation is 4,582 + 1,304 − 615 + 5 = 5,276. It incorporates the company's pricing methodology rather than multiplying rounded headline prices and ounces.
- Quarterly attributable gold production, in thousand ounces: 1,478 − 1,293 = 185 total decline; 1,464 − 1,293 = 171 decline in the retained portfolio; 14 − 0 = 14 decline from divested mines. These are production comparisons, separate from the revenue bridge.
- Operating subtotals: 6,118 − 3,022 = 3,096; 5,317 − 2,249 = 3,068; 13,425 − 5,863 = 7,562; 10,327 − 5,010 = 5,317. Each margin divides the relevant subtotal or stockholders' net income by revenue. These are reported-basis calculations, including asset-sale gains, not normalized earnings.
- Quarterly stockholders' profit reconciliation: 2,061 − 119 pretax-income change + 140 lower tax expense + 155 higher affiliate earnings − 35 additional minority-owner income = 2,202. No pretax exceptional item has been treated as an after-tax adjustment.
- First-half cash reconciliation: 5,579 net income + 1,422 net noncash adjustments − 292 changes in operating assets and liabilities = 6,709. Noncash adjustments: 1,236 − 5 + 149 − 146 + 24 + 164. Operating asset/liability changes: 531 − 283 + 16 + 102 − 458 + 84 − 284.
- Free cash flow: 6,709 − 1,360 = 5,349 in the first half of 2026; 4,415 − 1,500 = 2,915 in 2025. After paid common dividends and buybacks: 5,349 − 559 − 3,462 = 1,328; 2,915 − 561 − 1,359 = 995. This definition excludes other investing and financing flows and includes closure payments through operating cash flow.
- Quarterly free cash flow: 2,924 − 719 = 2,205 in the second quarter of 2026; 3,785 − 641 = 3,144 in the first quarter. Sequential realized gold price: 4,414 / 4,900 − 1 = −9.9%. First-half operating cash-flow growth: 6,709 / 4,415 − 1 = 52.0%.
- Cash including restricted balances: 7,684 + 6,709 − 1,033 − 4,301 − 16 = 9,043. Closing cash and cash equivalents are 9,009; restricted cash is 1 current plus 33 non-current. Opening restricted cash was 37. The balance-sheet cash increase of 1,362 therefore differs from the cash-flow statement's 1,359 increase including restricted balances.
- Balance sheets reconcile: June 2026 assets of 57,641 = liabilities of 22,227 + equity of 35,414; December 2025 assets of 57,121 = 23,079 + 34,042. Net cash under management's definition: 9,009 − 5,083 − 132 − 383 = 3,411.
- Equity reconciliation: 34,042 + 5,579 net income − 23 other comprehensive loss − 558 declared dividends − 189 minority distributions declared + 70 minority cash calls requested − 3,497 repurchases and retirements − 47 employee tax withholding + 37 award-related entries = 35,414. Retained earnings: 3,431 + 5,464 − 558 − 2,621 = 5,716. Paid-in capital: 28,847 − 825 + 35 = 28,057. Common-stock capital: 1,753 − 51 + 2 = 1,704.
- Quarterly diluted share-count change: 1,067 / 1,112 − 1 = −4.0%; diluted earnings-per-share growth: 2.06 / 1.85 − 1 = 11.4%.
- Closure obligations: 7,190 − 458 payments + 149 accretion − 2 estimate changes and other = 6,879, including 695 current and 6,184 non-current. Accretion is the increase in a discounted future obligation as its payment date approaches.
- Remaining attributable investment against guidance: 1,950 + 1,400 − 819 − 524 = 2,007. This is not a consolidated cash-flow forecast.
Reporting basis: Nevada Gold Mines is proportionately consolidated at Newmont's 38.5% interest. Pueblo Viejo at 40% and Lundin Gold at 32% are equity-method investments; Lundin Gold is recognized with a one-quarter lag. Their attributable ounces help describe Newmont's economic production interest but are not all included in consolidated gold sales. No subsidiary or affiliate profits have been added to consolidated earnings a second time.
Reporting basis: Cost measures that allocate expenses among metals are not interchangeable with measures that credit other-metal revenue against gold costs. Stockholders' net income excludes minority owners' earnings; the larger consolidated net-income amount begins the operating cash reconciliation.
Sources: Form 10-Q, statements, Notes 4, 6, 12 and 15, and management's discussion; July 23 earnings release, quarterly results, production history, capital guidance and reconciliations.
9. Newmont can fund its projects; production and spending will determine the remaining surplus
Newmont has the funding to continue its projects, while production delivery will shape how much cash remains. Higher metal prices than a year earlier allowed it to fund first-half construction, dividends and substantial buybacks while increasing cash. With no scheduled debt principal due through 2028, financing pressure is less immediate than restoring disrupted production and managing the second-half spending increase.
Ahafo North's contribution, steady Nevada Gold Mines output and the restart at Cadia support management's outlook. However, the large year-over-year declines at Cadia, Ahafo South and Peñasquito, together with rising costs per ounce, show why stronger prices should not be mistaken for better mining performance. Part of the production decline reflects planned ore changes, and management's second-half plan relies on gains at selected mines rather than improvement everywhere. Nevada Gold Mines also remains subject to the operating-governance dispute described above.
The first quarter provides a warning against treating favorable metal markets as a permanent operating achievement. Realized gold prices were lower in the second quarter, and free cash flow fell even while remaining well above the prior-year quarter. A verified return to pre-event production at Cadia, improved metal recovery at Peñasquito, and delivery of the planned fourth-quarter ounces would strengthen the business outlook.
If those results slip while construction and closure payments continue, the cash surplus would face pressure unless higher metal prices or other improvements offset the shortfall. Newmont's funding position gives it time to execute; production delivery and the timing of investment will determine how much of that flexibility it retains.
Sources: Form 10-Q, joint-venture discussion, p. 35; operating results and liquidity discussion, pp. 41–53; July 23 earnings release, quarterly history and production and investment outlook.
This report is for general information and explains Newmont's business and financial statements. It is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security.