Newmont Corporation

What does it do?

Newmont is the world's largest gold mining company. They dig gold out of the ground across 12 countries, from Nevada to Ghana to Australia. Think of them like a factory — except instead of making cars, they find gold deposits, extract them, and sell the metal to banks, jewellers, and investors. They also mine smaller amounts of copper, silver, and zinc as a bonus alongside the gold.

How does it make money?

Newmont makes almost all of its money by mining gold and selling it at whatever the market price happens to be. Revenue jumped from $18.7B to $22.7B in the latest year — largely because the Newcrest acquisition added new mines to its portfolio. The company runs roughly 17 active mining operations worldwide, and the cost of getting that gold out of the ground (called 'all-in sustaining costs') is a key number to watch — if gold prices stay above that cost, Newmont prints cash. Net income hit $7.1B last year, a strong result that reflects both higher gold prices and greater scale.

Why do investors care?

Gold prices above $2,000 per ounce — which has been the reality for much of recent history — are very profitable for a low-cost operator like Newmont. The bull case is simple: if gold keeps rising due to inflation fears, central bank buying, or global uncertainty, Newmont's profits rise with it, almost automatically. Investors also like that Newmont pays a meaningful dividend, so you get paid while you wait. The big question is whether management can successfully digest the huge Newcrest acquisition without operational hiccups or runaway costs.