Royal Gold Conference Spotlights Record Q1, Acquisition-Fueled Growth Pipeline

Key Points

• Royal Gold posted record first-quarter results, including record revenue, cash flow and earnings, with $391 million in adjusted EBITDA. The quarter was the first to fully reflect recent acquisitions.
• Acquisitions are driving a larger, more diversified growth pipeline, led by the Sandstorm and Horizon deals plus added streams at Kansanshi and Warintza. The company also cited reserve-life gains, including Mount Milligan’s extension to 2045 and beyond.
• Management says the royalty-and-streaming model offers lower-risk gold exposure because Royal Gold has limited direct exposure to mine operating costs and inflation. The company highlighted its high margins, strong balance sheet, dividend growth and a broad pipeline of future production catalysts.

Royal Gold NASDAQ: RGLD highlighted recent acquisitions, stronger first-quarter results and an expanded development pipeline during a virtual non-deal roadshow hosted by Renmark Financial Communications.

Alistair Baker, senior vice president of investor relations and business development at Royal Gold, said the company’s investment thesis remains centered on “consistent cash flows from precious metals” through a royalty and streaming model, rather than direct mine ownership. He emphasized that the company is “not a mining company” and has limited direct exposure to operating cost inflation.

Baker said Royal Gold has seen “a lot of news” over recent quarters that he believes has not yet been fully recognized by the market, adding that gold equities have been under pressure as gold “is taking a bit of a breather.”

Acquisitions Add Scale and Diversification

Baker described 2025 as “a very active” and “transformational” year for Royal Gold. He cited the completion of the Sandstorm and Horizon corporate acquisitions, which he said closed in mid-October last year and added growth and diversification to the portfolio.

The company also added gold streams at Kansanshi and Warintza. Baker said Kansanshi is a cash-flowing, “world-class copper mine in Zambia,” while Warintza is an emerging Tier 1 development project in Ecuador that Royal Gold hopes will become a world-class producing asset.

Royal Gold also reported internal portfolio developments, including a mine life extension at Mount Milligan to 2045 and potentially beyond. Baker also pointed to Barrick’s work at the Four Mile project in Nevada, which he described as “probably one of the best gold discoveries over the past several decades,” adding that Royal Gold has full exposure to it.

First-Quarter Results Set Records

Baker said Royal Gold’s first quarter was the first period to include consolidated results reflecting the recent transactions. The company reported record revenue, cash flow and earnings, including $391 million in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter.

Since the middle of October, Royal Gold has repaid $800 million of debt, increased portfolio reserve life by about 25% from the prior year to 18 years, and sold more than $200 million of non-core equity positions inherited through Sandstorm, Baker said.

The company also raised its dividend at year-end for the 25th consecutive year. Baker said Royal Gold has paid a growing dividend since 2000 and has distributed more than $1 billion to shareholders over time.

Royalty Model Positioned as Lower-Risk Gold Exposure

Baker said Royal Gold’s business is highly scalable, with 39 employees and low fixed costs. He said the company’s EBITDA margin in 2025 was 82%, while cash general and administrative costs were about 4% of revenue.

He contrasted the royalty and streaming model with mining operators, which face direct exposure to labor, energy and consumables inflation. Baker said Royal Gold’s costs are more stable, consisting largely of salaries, services and office rent, which should allow margins to expand when metal prices rise.

“Anything that impacts costs impacts margins,” Baker said, adding that higher energy prices could affect operator costs in upcoming quarterly results, while Royal Gold’s margins should remain comparatively consistent.

The company’s portfolio includes more than 360 assets, with about 80 producing revenue and about 30 in development. Baker said more than 250 assets remain at earlier stages, creating potential for future organic growth as projects advance.

Pipeline Includes Multiple Growth Catalysts

Royal Gold pointed to several assets expected to contribute over time. Baker said Back River reached commercial production in October and should provide its first full year of contributions this year. Platreef began milling ore in the fourth quarter of last year, and Robertson at the Cortez Complex is expected to begin production in 2027.

Later in the decade, Baker said Royal Gold expects potential new production from Palomarin, Great Bear and Marimaca. After the turn of the decade, he said MARA and Four Mile could contribute in the 2030s.

He also highlighted expansion potential at existing assets, including Khoemacau, where Royal Gold expects about a 30% increase in silver deliveries starting around 2028. At Mount Milligan, Baker said the mine life extension represents “a lot of value” for the company.

Capital Allocation and Valuation in Focus

Baker said Royal Gold’s capital allocation priorities remain reinvesting in the business with non-dilutive financing, maintaining a strong balance sheet and liquidity, and returning capital to shareholders.

The company recently added a $600 million accordion feature to its revolving credit facility and received board authorization for a $500 million share repurchase program. Baker said the buyback is discretionary and not tied to a formula or specific valuation levels.

In response to a question about leverage, Baker said Royal Gold could consider reaching three times net debt to EBITDA in “extreme circumstances” for a compelling acquisition, but would want to reduce leverage to two times within a reasonably quick period.

Asked about copper exposure, Baker said gold producers’ interest in copper projects is likely to continue because copper assets often have longer mine lives. He said this could create opportunities for royalty companies when copper projects contain precious metals components. Royal Gold is not targeting a specific revenue mix, he said, but remains comfortable with a portfolio that is about 90% precious metals and roughly 75% to 80% gold.

Baker said Royal Gold believes its share price is not reflecting the company’s recent performance, growth pipeline or the current gold price environment. He said the company is working to improve market understanding of its portfolio through investor outreach, an investor day and an asset handbook detailing the sources of revenue.

About Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company's portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.

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