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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Wheaton Precious Metals' 2026 Second Quarter Results Conference Call. Operator instructions: This conference is being recorded on Friday, August 7, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. I will now turn the conference over to Emma Murray, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Julianne. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for participating in today's call. I'm joined today by Haytham Hodaly, Wheaton Precious Metals' President and Chief Executive Officer; Vincent Lau, Chief Financial Officer; Wes Carson, Vice President of Mining Operations; and Neil Burns, Vice President, Corporate Development. Please note for those not currently on the webcast, a slide presentation accompanying this conference call is available in PDF format on the Presentations page of our website. Some of the comments on today's call may include forward-looking statements. Please refer to Slide 2 for cautionary information and disclosures. It should be noted that all figures referred to on today's call are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Haytham Hodaly, Wheaton's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Thank you, Emma, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Wheaton's second quarter results of 2026. The second quarter closed out a record-breaking first half of the year for Wheaton. Through the first six months of 2026, the company delivered record performance across many of our key metrics, including production, sales volumes, revenue, earnings and cash flow. In an environment marked by commodity price volatility and cost pressures, these results reflect the continued strength of our high-quality portfolio and the resilience of the streaming business model. In the first half of the year, we achieved record production of 415,000 gold equivalent ounces and record sales volumes of 390,000 gold equivalent ounces, positioning us well to achieve our 2026 production guidance range of 860,000 to 940,000 gold equivalent ounces. Production in the second quarter was bolstered by the initial contribution from our expanded Antamina silver stream and the continued realization of the company's growth strategy with incremental production realized from Hemlo, Fenix, Platreef and Goose. Turning to corporate development, we also continued to execute on our growth strategy during the quarter, completing several additional transactions that further diversify our portfolio. We closed the Antamina silver stream with BHP, a defining milestone for both Wheaton and the industry, representing the largest precious metal streaming transaction ever completed. We announced our first ever streaming transaction in Australia, a gold and silver stream on the Jervois project through our partnership with KGL Resources. We expanded our royalty portfolio through the Spanish Mountain and Cipango royalties, which also provide Wheaton with the right of first refusal on future financings, adding further optionality to our portfolio. Collectively, these transactions further strengthen our portfolio, expand our geographic reach and broaden our counterparty base while maintaining the disciplined approach to capital allocation that has underpinned Wheaton's success. As of June 30, 2026, our balance sheet remains robust with $100 million in cash on hand at quarter end and access to the undrawn portion of our $2.5 billion revolving credit facility, which, together with the strength of our forecasted operating cash flows, provides strong flexibility to fund all outstanding commitments and allows us to continue to pay down our existing debt balance as well as the capacity to pursue additional accretive mineral stream interests. We remain committed to disciplined capital deployment, focusing only on the most accretive opportunities that are structured to generate meaningful long-term value for all stakeholders. Importantly, Wheaton's growth is not dependent on additional transactions. Our existing portfolio already supports a strong organic growth profile of 50% by 2030, underpinned by multiple development assets advancing through construction, ramp-up and optimization. Turning to sustainability, Wheaton was once again recognized among Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada, a multi-sector accolade that we were proud to receive. During the quarter, we also launched our third annual Future of Mining Challenge, which will award $1 million to an initiative focused on advancing solutions for mine optimization and reducing land impacts across the mining sector. We look forward to engaging with innovators who are helping to shape the future of responsible mining, further demonstrated in our recently published 2025 sustainability report. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Wes Carson, our Vice President of Mining Operations, who will provide more detail on our operating results.
Thanks, Haytham. Good morning, everyone. Overall production in Q2 was 202,000 GEOs, a 6% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by the addition of BHP's Antamina stream, together with the new production from Fenix, Hemlo, Mineral Park, Platreef and Goose. In Q2, Salobo produced 62,100 ounces of attributable gold, a decrease of approximately 11% relative to Q2 2025, primarily the result of lower grades. Vale Base Metals disclosed that the coarse particle flotation is the key near-term growth driver at Salobo, supporting Salobo III's expansion from 12 million to 18 million tonnes per annum and targeted total throughput of 42 million tonnes per annum by 2029. In Q2, Antamina produced 2.3 million ounces of attributable silver, an increase of approximately 56% relative to Q2 2025. The increase was primarily driven by the newly acquired BHP Antamina PMPA, which increased the company's share of silver production at Antamina from 33.75% to 67.5% effective April 1, 2026. The benefit of the increased production share was partially offset by lower silver grades and the timing of planned maintenance as a scheduled July maintenance shutdown was advanced into June. The lower grades were attributable to pit sequencing with a greater portion of copper-only ore processed relative to copper-zinc ore, which contains more silver. An increase in copper-zinc ore is expected to be processed in the third quarter, which is expected to result in higher silver grades. In Q2, Blackwater produced 100,000 ounces of attributable silver and 5,900 ounces of attributable gold, an increase of 7% and 46%, respectively, relative to Q2 2025, primarily the result of higher recoveries, grades and throughput. On August 4, 2026, Artemis Gold provided an update on the Phase 1 expansion at Blackwater, which is anticipated to increase the plant's nameplate capacity by 33% from 6 million to 8 million tonnes per annum. Artemis reported that the Phase 1A was 57% complete at the end of Q2 2026 and remains on schedule for commissioning in Q4 2026, with the expansion expected to contribute to production beginning in 2027. Artemis also commenced major works construction on its larger EP2 growth project at Blackwater, which remains on schedule and on budget. Together, Phase 1A and EP2 are expected to expand throughput capacity by 250% from 6 million to 21 million tonnes per annum by 2028, increasing annual gold production to over 500,000 ounces. Several development projects continue to ramp up in Q2 2026, including Mineral Park, Fenix, Platreef and Goose. Construction also advanced across a number of projects, including Kurmuk, where Allied Gold reported the project remains on budget and on schedule with start of operations expected in August and first gold pour a few weeks thereafter. And Kone, where Montage Gold reported that the project remains on budget and ahead of schedule with first gold pour targeted for Q4 2026 through the oxide circuit and the hard rock comminution circuit on track for completion in Q2 2027. Production outlook for 2026 remains unchanged, and we currently expect to achieve our annual production guidance of 860,000 to 940,000 GEOs. Production is expected to be weighted to the second half of 2026, driven by mine sequencing at Salobo and Peñasquito, the first full contribution from the Antamina BHP stream and the continued ramp-up of newly operating assets through 2026. Looking ahead, we project annual production to grow at an industry-leading rate of approximately 50%, reaching 1.2 million GEOs by 2030 with average annual production forecast to remain at approximately 1.2 million GEOs from 2031 through 2035.
Thank you, Wes. Production in Q2 was 202,000 GEOs, a 6% increase year-over-year, driven primarily by the addition of the BHP Antamina stream and contributions from our newly operating assets. Sales volumes were 209,000 GEOs, a 14% increase from last year. Sales exceeded production in the quarter as we drew down produced but not yet delivered ounces carried over from prior periods. Consistent with our earlier guidance, Q2 deliveries reflected two of the typical three quarterly shipments under the new BHP Antamina stream with a full quarterly contribution expected in the second half of the year. At the end of the second quarter, the produced but not yet delivered, or PBND, balance was approximately 158,000 GEOs, representing 2.6 months of payable production. This is consistent with the preceding four quarters and within our guided range of 2.5 to 3.5 months. Strong commodity prices, coupled with solid production led to record quarterly revenue of $929 million, an increase of 85% compared to last year. This was driven primarily by a 61% increase in the average realized gold equivalent price, together with a 14% increase in the number of volumes sold. Of this revenue, 46% came from gold, 52% from silver and the remainder from cobalt and palladium. In the coming quarters, we expect the revenue split to favor gold as the new gold-dominant development projects come online. Net earnings increased by 86% from the prior year to $543 million, while operating cash flow totaled $650 million, a 57% increase from last year, resulting in year-to-date records achieved across revenue, net earnings and operating cash flow. During the quarter, we generated over $650 million in operating cash flow and deployed approximately $4.5 billion in net upfront cash payments across our streaming portfolio. This was headlined by the $4.3 billion payment to BHP for the Antamina silver stream funded on April 1 and also included $156 million for Kone, $23 million for Spanish Mountain, $60 million for Jervois and $4.5 million for Cipango. In addition, the company made two dividend payments totaling $171 million and made its first global minimum tax payment relative to the 2024 taxation year amounting to $109 million. After funding these commitments, we ended the quarter with a cash balance of approximately $100 million at June 30, resulting in a net debt balance of approximately $1.9 billion. This is a reduction from the approximately $2.1 billion pro forma net debt position immediately following the Antamina funding on April 1, reflecting the strength of our operating cash flow even after funding additional stream payments and dividends during the quarter. On the Antamina acquisition, on April 1, we drew down on our new $1.5 billion term loan, together with a draw on our revolving credit facility and cash on hand. During the quarter, we further enhanced our financial flexibility by upsizing our revolving credit facility by $500 million to $2.5 billion and extending its maturity by one year to June 30, 2031. Together with the $500 million accordion feature and our cash on hand, this provides approximately $2.6 billion of available liquidity. Given the strength of our production guidance and continued strong margins, we remain well positioned to generate robust operating cash flow at current commodity prices, supporting debt repayment over a relatively short period while continuing to build capacity to fund our existing commitments and potential future accretive stream acquisitions.
Thank you, Vincent. In summary, the first half of 2026 was record-breaking for Wheaton and the second quarter reflected the continued execution of our strategy. The first half of the year saw records achieved across production, sales volumes, revenue, earnings and cash flow, reflecting the strength and momentum across our portfolio. In the second quarter, we delivered record revenue and closed the Antamina silver stream with BHP, the largest streaming transaction to date, which has meaningful long-term silver exposure. We continue to execute on disciplined accretive growth, further expanding and diversifying our portfolio with the closing of the Jervois transaction, our first stream in Australia. Our development pipeline continued to advance with multiple assets progressing through construction, ramp-up and optimization, supporting Wheaton's forecasted sector-leading organic growth profile of 50% by 2030. Wheaton's strategy remains clear: stay disciplined in pursuing high-quality, low-risk, long-life, accretive precious metal streams and deliver sustainable long-term value for all stakeholders. With that, I would now like to open the call up for questions. Operator?
分析師問答
Operator instructions: We will now open the call for questions. Our first question comes from Daniel Major from UBS.
Yes, I guess the first question is just on the bridge into the second half. How much of that uplift is the new assets coming online? Can you give us a light sense of contribution from the new ramp-ups relative to the mine sequencing? That's the first question.
Thanks for the question, Daniel. Mine sequencing is the primary driver. Most of the ramp-ups this year amount to only about 3% of our total production for the year. So really, the main factors are the Antamina stream being fully online and the shift in mine sequencing, particularly at Salobo and Peñasquito towards the second half of the year.
Okay, got it. And then the second question is about the project pipeline and your appetite for deals while you're still digesting the shift to net debt and the Antamina acquisition. We've seen a pullback in asset values with the gold price a little bit. Has that made the pipeline more active? Second, you've engaged in a couple of royalty transactions. You've historically been less active in this space relative to your peers. Are you seeing opportunities for transactions in third-party royalties? Third, are you seeing any movement on the copper project pipeline? Are we likely to see more FIDs and financing requirements? I'll leave it at that.
Thank you for the question, Daniel. We currently have, as Vincent outlined, almost $2.6 billion in unused capacity through our revolver, and we're generating in excess of $200 million of free cash flow every month. So we feel very comfortable continuing to transact on whatever we see in the market that would be accretive for Wheaton. Regarding the royalty transactions we've done lately, you should view them differently. We're not just entering into royalties because royalties alone won't really move the needle. What we're doing is entering into royalties that have rights of first refusal on future financings. That right of first refusal is the key. Having the ability to lock that up provides us certainty that we have the last look when there's an opportunity out there to finance, which is very important. I'll pass the remainder of the question to Neil Burns, our Vice President of Corporate Development.
Sure, Daniel. You mentioned the drop in metal prices. Coming off the highs earlier in the year, moderation in metal prices did contribute to a bit of softening in the equity markets, which has led to an uptick in some opportunities from smaller companies facing a tougher financing environment. We see the mix still weighted towards gold, and transaction sizing generally remains in the $200 million to $500 million range as we've been messaging.
Yes, just whether there's any high-level color on the deal pipeline or potential in the copper industry — whether you're seeing any more movement on those projects?
The copper industry has a number of large projects, but they will take time to come to fruition. There's nothing imminent within the next one to two years that requires financing. Looking out three to eight years, there are a number of large porphyry copper deposits that will require substantial funding, and we would hope to be involved in those. In the meantime, we're not sitting idle. Our team is constantly evaluating opportunities to expand our portfolio through accretive transactions. We've been active in stable jurisdictions, including Australia and North America, and we're excited about the opportunities ahead.
Our next question comes from Tanya Jakusconek from Scotiabank.
Congrats on the strong quarter. Can I come back to the second half of the year? You're going to see stronger production mainly from the operating assets. Could you provide some guidance on sales, since sales came in higher than we expected? How do you see sales and production looking for the second half of the year?
Tanya, it's Vince. Our PBND balance really drives that. At the end of Q2, we're sitting at about 2.6 months. We typically see it range between 2.5 to 3.5 months. So I would say there is a higher likelihood of a slight buildup in PBND towards year-end than a drawdown. I would forecast it to be flat or rising a little, but nothing dramatic.
If that's the case, then you're thinking production and sales could be close to each other. Is that how we should be thinking about it?
That's how I would think about it.
That's helpful. Turning to the deal pipeline, a couple of questions. From what you've said, the big opportunities in the plus-$1 billion range seem further out in the three- to eight-year timeframe. Would that be a fair statement?
I would say the larger copper opportunities would generally be further out. There are other opportunities in the pipeline that could be in excess of $1 billion, and some could be as high as $2 billion, but those take time to gestate. The majority of opportunities are focused on the sub-$500 million range, though the odd $1 billion or $2 billion transaction could arise sooner.
Are those primarily in gold or silver?
Those are primarily focused on gold.
Are you seeing any changes to the structure of deals in the $200 million to $500 million range? Is it still usual project financing that requires a stream plus equity and debt components, or has anything changed?
That's about right, Tanya. We're increasingly providing more of a financing package. You've seen us provide working capital facilities and equity where needed. We structure transactions to be most efficient for the project sponsor without diluting their existing shareholders. The goal is to create win-win transactions.
My last question relates to people. On project builds, contractor quality isn't what it used to be. What are you doing internally to strengthen technical expertise, since relying on contractors alone is not optimal?
Internally, our team is currently about 45 to 46 people. We have two new hires coming on to expand our engineering and operations teams. The more opportunities we pursue, the more work there is to do. We're adding two to three people over the next three to four months, and we have the capacity to add another 10% over the next five years as the portfolio expands. We want to ensure our team can handle the workload without burning out.
We perform the majority of our reviews and opportunity assessments internally, so we're not relying heavily on external consultants.
Can you remind me of the technical expertise you currently have in-house?
We have mining engineers, geologists, processing engineers, geological engineers, civil engineers, geotechnical engineers and social scientists. We have a broad set of disciplines in-house and have not relied on external consultants for at least a couple of years.
What areas do you need to add?
We're adding additional engineering capacity so we can evaluate more opportunities and adding operations support to assist Wes in monitoring our development projects.
Our next question comes from Cosmos Chiu from CIBC.
Thanks. On Antamina, Q2 was impacted by the split between copper-only and copper-zinc concentrate. Does that composition shift usually reflect pit sequencing rather than producer preference based on metal prices? Do you have visibility beyond Q3 on that mix?
Thanks, Cosmos. There's no selective feeding driven by prices; it's pit sequencing. Copper-zinc ore is located in different areas of the pit, and it depends on where they're mining. The area with higher silver grades is around the old primary crusher at the bottom of the pit, which contains copper-bornite and copper-zinc ore. That area has taken a bit longer to reach than expected, but they are well progressed. We expect higher silver grades to come in later in the year and to continue over the next 12 to 18 months.
Given that the Antamina transaction was executed when silver prices were higher and prices have since moderated, are you concerned about potential write-downs? From an accounting perspective, can you treat the entire 67.5% stream holistically to reduce write-down risk, or are the Glencore and BHP streams treated separately?
From an accounting perspective, the Glencore and BHP streams are separate cash-generating units (CGUs), so we need to evaluate them separately. When we did the Antamina transaction with BHP, spot prices were higher, but we did not use spot prices for long-term valuation. We use long-term price assumptions that are conservative. Currently, there are no indicators of impairment, and we're comfortable with the carrying value of the asset.
So there's no triggering event at this point?
No. The asset is performing as expected. Prices are volatile, but we take a long-term view on value.
One last question: you made an investment in Cipango in Japan. Can you talk about that investment and how you view Japan as a jurisdiction for mining?
I'll pass that to Neil for more detail.
Japan is unique geologically, located along several plate margins, which creates potential for significant ore bodies, and it has been underexplored historically. After World War I, the workforce shifted away from mining and the country moved toward smelting and refining, so exploration has been limited. Cipango has a number of projects covered by our NSR: five that they own 100% and two they're earning into. The right of first refusal Haytham mentioned earlier covers 16 projects in the country, providing us substantial optionality on any discoveries.
Great. I know it isn't producing yet, but if you ever organize a mine tour in Japan, let me know.
Our next question comes from Brian MacArthur from Raymond James.
My questions relate to the earlier-stage deposits like Toroparu and Cotabambas. When I look at when you expect to spend on these, it's post-2030. First, are the remaining payments one-time or staged? Second, do you think you'll be paying those sooner than 2030? Third, there are buydown options in these agreements — are those one-time options that effectively triggered the structures? Can you walk through how you're thinking about Toroparu and Cotabambas specifically?
I'll start with the payment structure. We committed very little capital initially on these deals. The majority of the capital is provided as the projects are derisked. Payments are staged based on levels of completion: as projects reach certain milestones — for example, initial construction stages or specified percent complete — we provide additional capital. That's the typical structure for these transactions.
Importantly, we generally don't provide any capital until a project is permitted and in construction. That's how we derisk the investment and achieve a significantly higher return on capital employed. This approach differs from some royalty structures where capital might be provided earlier.
To add, both Cotabambas and Toroparu are currently outside of our 10-year guidance, so they're not included in near-term guidance. Both projects appear to be getting some traction, and we are monitoring that closely. Should they advance further, we would bring them into guidance.
Prior to delivering a feasibility, do you put money in before the feasibility is complete? Are the buy-in options triggered when you make the next payment, or are they staged along the way? In simple terms, can these structures be changed after initial funding?
These are structured like typical streaming agreements. You cannot change the stream percentage once agreed — it's baked in. Each deal is different. In some cases, projects must deliver a feasibility study before we decide to move forward. For the deals we expect to progress, we'll provide capital when they're permitted, in construction and fully financed. That's when we commit our funding.
On buyback options and change of control terms: in more recent transactions, in the event of a change of control, we've allowed a partial buyback of up to one-third. I don't recall that either Toroparu or Cotabambas had buyback options in the contracts in the event of change of control.
Our next question comes from Jack Baxter from Bloomberg Intelligence.
I want to shift to the long-term outlook. You're sticking to the 1.2 million GEOs by 2030. Given new deals and positive milestones across the portfolio, is there a bias towards that GEO outlook being more positive? Should we expect a refresh in the near term?
Our current forecast of 1.2 million GEOs is based on projects in the pipeline that are already permitted, financed and in construction. Three projects expected to start construction within the next 12 months are included in that view, so we're comfortable with the number. However, we're a growth company generating strong cash flow annually, and we'll continue to deploy capital into accretive transactions. I believe the forecast is conservative, but until we complete additional transactions we'll stick with the 1.2 million ounce forecast.
A follow-up: curious about any discussions with Equinox focusing on Los Filos. That stream expires in 2029, and there are plans for a sizable development. Have there been discussions about extending the timeline of that contract or participating in funding opportunities given the asset's challenges?
Jack, there haven't been significant discussions around those deals. It's a relatively small stream in our portfolio at present and not material. If Equinox requires assistance with the sulfide plant or other aspects, we're willing to help, but to date we haven't had substantive discussions on extending or funding that asset.
To add, Los Filos is one of only two assets in our portfolio with a finite expiry date; the rest are life-of-mine arrangements. Thank you everyone for your time today. Wheaton's record-breaking results in the first half of 2026 reinforce our position as the premier low-risk option for exposure to gold and silver. Our strong balance sheet, diversified portfolio and compelling growth pipeline position us to continue executing on accretive opportunities and delivering long-term value for all stakeholders. I want to thank all of our stakeholders for their continued support as we build on this record first half and continue to execute on the next phase of growth for the company. Thank you again, and we look forward to speaking with you all soon.
This concludes this conference call for today. Thank you for participating. Please disconnect your lines.