Equinox Gold

I had tight stops on these positions and got stopped out of all of them for nice profits on the day of the Big Swoon in gold. I haven't bought them back yet, but they're still my favourite ways to play "mainstream gold". As gold stocks continue the "digestion/consolidation" phase of their relatively recent big moves higher, I'll be watching them, but for now, I'm out. Since making my sales, KNT had a great exploration update, EQX reported a great quarter, and ABX announced that it is proceeding with the IPO/spinout of its North American assets. All of those are positive updates, so the fact that I don't own these names right now is simply a reflection of my desire to hold an elevated cash level and seek for more niche-like opportunities where I think I have more of an edge over the market. If I still held these, I would set stop loss levels around the most recent lows for all three of them.

These are still my three "large cap beta gold" names. ABX, EQX and KNT all still trade at discounts to the net asset values of their peers on the broker comp sheets and, as a result, I think they are attractive on a relative basis. KNT is entering a production ramp-up phase that will see its production rise from 175,000 oz/Au per year last year to around 400,000 oz/Au per year by the end of 2027. 2026 will see a big jump in production rates once the Phase 3 expansion ramps up around mid-year and the Phase 4 expansion should take KNT to its 400,000 ounce per year goal (note that both Phase 3 and 4 expansions were/are internally funded).

KNT is located in Papua New Guinea, so its single asset/jurisdiction risk is partly to blame for its discount multiple, but if a larger company were to merge with it or buy it out, that risk would be diluted. KNT also has significant resource upside potential at Arakompa where a maiden resource is expected mid-year – and it has other highly prospective target areas for exploration. This is a trading position for me, so I'll keep it on a short leash in terms of a stop loss level.

EQX sold its Brazilian assets late in 2025 at a price that some felt was "too cheap", but the resulting entity is more focused on production in "Tier 1" jurisdictions, which usually would eventually result in a premium market multiple for the remainder of the company, not a discount. As a result, I'm going to be patient with it as long as the gold price and the EQX chart behave themselves.

I own ABX for two reasons. First, generalists who don't have any gold exposure will buy it for its liquidity and scale as they try to play catch up. Second, Barrick has talked about IPO-ing a minority stake in its North American mines, which could unlock some of Barrick's latent value. The IPO decision is expected in early 2026. This is also a trading position for me, and as such, it's on a tight leash in terms of my tolerance for watching it go down.

These are my three big gold stocks and they've been great.

EQX is still a catch-up/re-rate trade with excellent North American exposure. EQX's recently announced deal to sell its Brazilian operations for ~$1B will take 2026 production guidance down into the 700,000-800,000-ounce range, but the company will use the proceeds to pay down debt and will come out the other side with a higher concentration of its production coming from Canada and the U.S. – which would be expected to command higher valuation multiples in the market.

If this broke $18, I might consider reducing my position, but I've actually added in the low $19's recently as I like the increased pro forma U.S.-Canada exposure as a percentage of its overall asset portfolio.

KNT is still a high-growth-at-low-cost story that would make a good bolt-on for any company. Its pure play status on Papua New Guinea is the only reason that I can think of for why it trades at a discount to the group, but I think that makes it a great acquisition target given its production growth profile and exploration upside. Based on the chart, if this dips below $20, I might lock in some profits.

Lastly, ABX is the large-cap that was in the doghouse, but is now ready to re-rate higher with its Mali issues resolved and a potential IPO of its best-in-class U.S. gold assets early in 2026. It has been outperforming lately, but that could continue with the pending IPO of the U.S. assets. The trader in me would keep an eye on the $55 price level as a potential stop loss/preserve gain on this one.

Well, it dipped into the low $14's and is now back up near its highs. This laggard offers a combination of growth and deleveraging that the market loves, so continued operational execution could take EQX quite a bit higher in this gold tape. No change here.

I'm including Equinox Gold here because I know that a lot of people/money managers are behind on the gold trade and it's hard to know what is still attractive after some pretty strong moves to the upside. EQX is a $13 billion market cap company that exhibits a combination of growing production, increasing cash flow, and falling per-ounce production costs – with two-thirds of its production coming from Canada and the United States. Legacy issues meant that EQX was in the doghouse for a long time and its shares have only recently started to perform as operations at its newly commissioned Greenstone Gold Mine turned the corner (from a disappointing start up to an encouraging ramp-up) and it began commercial production at its Valentine Gold Mine (both mines are in Canada) under new leadership. Despite its recent move upwards, EQX still screens as being cheap relative to its peers and the corporate characteristics that I listed a few sentences ago – combined with organic deleveraging (paying down debt) – makes for a compelling "re-rate" story in the eyes of money managers looking to play catch-up on the gold trade. I mention EQX here because if I was running money at a fund that needed to get some gold exposure to an attractively-priced gold company without taking on excessive country risk, it would fit the bill. As a result, I think EQX could draw more "fresh interest" than some of the other larger producers. With annual production set to cross into the >1 million ounce-per-year club in 2026 and beyond, EQX is large, it's liquid, and it's a good way to toe-in to the gold trade without taking on the risks associated with some other companies (e.g., single-asset risk, geopolitical risk, extended valuation). I've added stock near current levels (high 16's) and – assuming that the overall market environment was still healthy – this is one that I'd consider adding to if it dipped to the $13-14 range on a sector/market pullback. EQX's chart suggests it should have very strong support in the $10-11 range, though I'm not sure it would get there without the gold price dropping substantially.