Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) reported record first-quarter 2026 financial results, with management citing higher precious metals prices, recent acquisitions and strong contributions from several key assets as the main drivers of performance.
President and CEO Paul Brink said the company posted record revenue, operating cash flow, adjusted EBITDA and net income in the quarter. He also noted a gain from the partial buyback of the company’s Cascabel stream and royalty interests after the project moved into the hands of Jiangxi Copper, which Brink described as “a party we believe is very capable of building and operating a large-scale mine.”
Brink opened the call by acknowledging a board transition following the company’s annual meeting. David Harquail gave his final address as chair before becoming chair emeritus, while Tom Albanese, formerly Franco-Nevada’s lead independent director and a former CEO of Rio Tinto plc and Vedanta Resources, assumed the chair role.
Revenue and Earnings Hit Records
Chief Financial Officer Sandip Rana said revenue rose 77% year over year to $650.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 84% to $591.9 million. Adjusted net income was $458.3 million, or $2.38 per share, up 123% and 122%, respectively, from the prior-year period.
Total gold equivalent ounces sold rose 8% to 136,353 GEOs, compared with 126,585 GEOs a year earlier. Precious metals GEOs sold increased 17% to 117,980 GEOs. Rana said 55% of total GEOs sold were sourced directly from mines where precious metals are the primary commodity.
Rana said gold and silver prices were significantly higher year over year, with the average gold price up 70% in the quarter. Silver and platinum were the strongest performers, rising 165% and 128%, respectively. The company’s Antamina interest was a major beneficiary of higher silver prices and higher silver deliveries, with revenue from that asset increasing to $82.3 million from $21.3 million a year earlier.
Other asset-level highlights included a 322% increase in GEOs at South Arturo, driven by Phase I production from the open pit. Rana said Hemlo included a CAD 10 million adjustment related to 2025 that flowed through the first quarter of 2026. Recent acquisitions, including Côté and Porcupine, contributed about 6,500 GEOs and $31.5 million in revenue during the quarter.
Diversified GEOs sold fell to 18,373 from 25,962 a year earlier, though diversified revenue increased to $82.6 million from $74.8 million. Rana attributed the GEO decline to the company’s conversion methodology, noting that Franco-Nevada now converts revenue to GEOs using a fixed gold price of $4,500 per ounce.
Costs, Margins and Cascabel Buyback
Cost of sales increased to $46.5 million from $38.5 million, reflecting higher fixed costs paid for stream ounces, as some streams have fixed costs based on a percentage of the gold price. Depletion rose to $77.9 million from $68.4 million, which Rana attributed to depletion recorded on recent transactions including Yanacocha, Western Limb, Porcupine and Côté.
Rana said Franco-Nevada’s business model continued to show high margins as commodity prices increased. Cash cost per GEO rose roughly 12% to $341 from $304 in the prior-year quarter, while margin per GEO increased 77% to $4,534 from $2,559.
The company recorded a $63.8 million gain included in net income related to the partial buyback of the Cascabel royalty and stream. Rana said 50% of the royalty was bought back for $97.5 million, while 50% of the stream was bought back for net proceeds of $40.7 million. The stream proceeds were delivered through approximately 10,000 gold ounces, which remained in inventory at quarter-end. Rana said those ounces are expected to be sold throughout the rest of the year and will not be included in revenue or GEOs when sold.
Acquisitions and Cobre Panamá Developments
Brink called the quarter one of Franco-Nevada’s most successful for growing the business, citing four acquisitions: a gold stream with Orezone on Casa Berardi, royalty financings for i-80 Gold in Nevada and Minerals 260 in Western Australia, and the purchase of a third-party royalty on Banyan’s AurMac project.
Brink also said the company saw encouraging progress at Cobre Panamá. He said coal shipments were received, both power plant units were restarted and power was supplied to the grid. The Panamanian government also approved the processing of stockpiles, which Brink said would allow the mills to restart and immediately increase employment in the country. An environmental audit by SGS Global is ongoing, with five interim reports published and no material deficiencies identified, according to Brink. The final report is due in the second quarter.
Asked during the Q&A whether there were discussions about changing the Cobre Panamá stream terms, Brink said Franco-Nevada is not involved in discussions between First Quantum and the Panamanian government, aside from its own arbitration interactions with the government. “We’re not operators. We’re not on for operating risk,” Brink said, adding that he thought a material change was unlikely.
Deal Pipeline and Capital Position
Management said Franco-Nevada ended the quarter with $3.4 billion in available capital, consisting of $715 million in cash, $1.5 billion under its credit facility including an accordion feature, and $1.2 billion in liquid marketable securities. After quarter-end, Franco-Nevada International Corporation entered into a separate $500 million credit facility with an additional $250 million accordion.
In response to analyst questions, Brink said the company is seeing several themes in the transaction market, including financing opportunities with developers, larger companies selling smaller assets and potential interest from major miners in selling precious metal streams following BHP’s Antamina transaction. He said typical developer deal sizes are in the $200 million to $500 million range, while potential streams from larger players could be much larger.
Brink said most opportunities under review are precious metals-related, though the company remains open to diversified commodities transactions. On consolidation among royalty and streaming companies, he said Franco-Nevada periodically evaluates peers but generally finds better value in private transactions because royalty companies tend to trade at premiums.
Dividend, Outlook and Other Updates
Franco-Nevada paid $84.4 million in dividends during the quarter. Rana said the company increased its quarterly dividend in January by 16% to $0.44 per share, or $1.76 annualized, marking its 19th consecutive year of dividend increases. Asked about the possibility of a special dividend, Rana said the company’s priority remains adding long-life assets to the portfolio and maintaining a “sustainable and progressive” dividend policy.
Rana said current oil prices, with WTI hovering around $100 per barrel, should positively affect second-quarter energy revenue. He said a $10 increase relative to the $70 WTI assumption used in guidance would be expected to increase oil revenue by about 12%. He also said the rest of the year should be stronger than the first quarter, helped by energy prices, expected deliveries from Condestable and Casa Berardi, and continued ramp-up at Côté.
The company also highlighted sustainability initiatives, including expanded diversity scholarships in collaboration with Young Mining Professionals, renewed support for Enseña Perú’s education initiatives in Peru and an education initiative with i-80 Gold in Nevada. Brink said Franco-Nevada received an MSCI ESG rating upgrade from AA to AAA during the quarter.
Franco-Nevada said it expects to release second-quarter results on Aug. 12 after the market close, followed by a conference call the next morning.
About Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV)
Franco-Nevada Corporation is a Toronto-based royalty and streaming company that specializes in securing and managing long-term interests in mining properties. The firm focuses primarily on precious metals, particularly gold, while also holding interests related to silver, copper, platinum-group metals and select base metals. Rather than operating mines directly, Franco-Nevada acquires royalty and streaming agreements that entitle it to a percentage of production or revenue from producing and developing assets in exchange for upfront or staged financing.
The company's business model centers on providing capital to mining companies in return for a sustained share of production or metal revenue, which can reduce exposure to operating and capital cost risks typical of mine operators.
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