KGC
Cash machine: still running hot
Kinross Gold kicked off 2026 with another strong quarter, and the headline number is the kind that makes investors sit up a little straighter: roughly $840 million in free cash flow. That’s a record for the company, and it’s the fourth straight quarter of record FCF. Not bad for a business that literally has to dig money out of the ground.
Production didn’t sleep on the job
The company produced 493,000 ounces of gold in Q1, with Tasiast and Paracatu doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Management said both mines delivered strong output, helped by better recoveries, higher grades, and a pretty disciplined approach to costs. Cost of sales came in at $1,380 per ounce, while all-in sustaining costs were $1,732 per ounce.
The gold price helped — but Kinross did the rest
Yes, gold prices were favorable. But this wasn’t just a case of “the metal went up, so the stock should too.” Kinross said its operating margins outpaced the rise in gold prices, which is the kind of sentence miners like to say when they want you to know they’re not just passively riding the wave. Record margins came in at $3,476 per ounce, which is the sort of number that tends to keep shareholders smiling.
Shareholders get a cut of the action
Kinross also said it plans to return about 40% of free cash flow in 2026, using buybacks and its quarterly dividend. Translation: the company isn’t hoarding the cash like a dragon on a pile of gold coins; it’s sending some back to owners.
The project pipeline keeps moving
There was more than just near-term cash to talk about. Kinross gave updates on Great Bear and Lobo Marte, saying permitting and exploration work are moving ahead. The company also reiterated its full-year production, cost, and capital guidance, which usually signals management isn’t seeing any ugly surprises lurking around the corner.
Big picture: Kinross is doing the two things investors love most in a miner — pumping out cash today and keeping the next few years from looking sleepy.