Royal Gold Achieves Record Q1 2026 Revenue and Earnings Boost

Factors behind Royal Gold’s strong Q1 2026 revenue and earnings performance

Royal Gold reported a very strong Q1 2026, with record quarterly revenue of $469 million, operating cash flow of $294 million, and earnings of $281 million, representing +143% revenue, +115% operating cash flow, and +148% earnings versus Q1 2025. ¹ The quarter was also strong on adjusted profitability: adjusted net income of $233 million (or $2.72/share), up 80% year over year after adjusting for unusual items. ¹ Management also characterized the quarter as the start of the post-acquisition ramp, noting record revenue, earnings, and cash flow in the first quarter of 2026 and that no single asset contributed more than 12.5% of total revenue, supporting the idea of broad-based strength. ²

Below are the principal drivers described in the excerpts.

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1) Higher metal prices (especially silver) lifted revenue broadly

A large part of the revenue growth came from significant year-over-year increases in key commodity prices: gold up 70%, silver up 165%, and copper up 38% versus the prior-year quarter. ³ Because Royal Gold’s royalties/streams monetize production, these metal price increases directly flowed into higher revenue and earnings.

The mix also reflects the silver strength: while gold remained the dominant revenue source, its share fell to 71% of total revenue (from 75% in the prior-year quarter) because silver rose to 16% (from 12%). ¹ Management explicitly said this was “driven by very strong silver prices during the quarter” rather than weakness in gold revenues. ¹

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2) Volume and contribution growth from legacy interests and newer portfolio additions

Management attributes the revenue jump not only to prices, but also to higher volumes from some of its largest legacy interests and new contributions from the latest portfolio additions. ³ It also reported volume of 96,300 GEOs and record revenue of $469 million, explicitly noting that this included the first full quarter from the Sandstorm Horizon interests. ⁴

These points matter because they indicate the quarter’s performance was not purely price-driven; it included scale expansion from transactions and higher production-linked volumes. ³⁴

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3) Strong portfolio performance across multiple operating assets

Royal Gold highlighted strong results from specific portfolio operations:

• Royalty revenue up 120% year over year to $156 million. ⁴
• Stream revenue up 155% year over year to $313 million, with higher contributions from multiple stream interests including Pueblo Viejo, Zhaojin, Rainy River, Mount Milligan, Cobre Panama, Compañía Minera Coimolache, Bisha, and a strong contribution from Kansanshi. ⁴
• Management also cited very strong revenue from Peñasquito and strong performance at Cortez (including both legacy and CC zones). ⁴

This aligns with management’s broader comment that the quarter’s results were broad-based, with no asset contributing more than 12.5% of total revenue. ²

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4) Margin strength supported earnings despite some cost increases

Royal Gold’s adjusted earnings strength also reflects continued high profitability metrics:

• Adjusted EBITDA margin remained high at 83%, attributed to low and stable cash G&A. ¹
• While there were cost-related items, management noted G&A expense of $17.5 million, about $6.5 million higher than the prior year, mainly due to higher corporate costs tied to 2025 transactions recognized in Q1 2026. ³
• DD&A expense increased to $91 million from $33 million the prior year, reflecting the larger asset base/operations and higher unit expense. ³

So, even with elevated depreciation and some one-time/transaction-related corporate costs, earnings rose sharply because top-line expansion (prices + volumes + portfolio scale) more than overwhelmed cost pressure—while the company still preserved high cash overhead discipline. ¹³

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5) Accounting/one-time items also boosted reported earnings

Reported earnings and net income included discrete and investment-related gains:

• Management said the increase in net income was largely due to higher revenue and gains from the sale of marketable securities, offset by higher costs (including cost of sales, DD&A, interest, and income tax expense). ⁵
• In the quarter, the company recognized a $14 million gain on the sale of marketable securities, most of which was due to the sale of Highlander Silver shares. ⁶
• It also reported a $33.7 million discrete tax benefit; excluding this, the effective tax rate would have been about 19.5%. ⁶

These items helped the translation from strong operating performance into strong earnings figures (though management also emphasized the adjusted results as record on a comparable basis). ⁵¹⁶

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6) Operating cash flow surged, reinforcing earnings quality

Royal Gold’s cash generation was unusually strong in Q1:

• Operating cash flow was $294 million, up from $136 million in the prior year. ¹
• Management said the increase was primarily due to higher stream and royalty revenue, partially offset by higher income tax payments, cash G&A costs, and interest payments. ⁵

This indicates the earnings strength was not purely accounting-based; it was supported by cash generation tied to the same fundamental drivers (revenue growth from streams/royalties). ⁵

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Bottom line

Royal Gold’s strong Q1 2026 revenue and earnings performance was driven by a combination of:

1. very large commodity price tailwinds, especially silver (up 165%) and also gold (up 70%) and copper (up 38%), which directly increased royalty/stream revenue; ³
2. higher volumes and scaling contributions, including the first full quarter from Sandstorm Horizon interests and additional contributions from recent portfolio additions; ³⁴
3. broad portfolio strength across multiple stream/royalty assets (with no single asset dominating revenue); ²⁴
4. continued high profitability/margin discipline, with 83% adjusted EBITDA margin tied to low/stable cash G&A, even though DD&A and some corporate costs increased; ¹³ and
5. positive non-core/accounting impacts such as gains from sale of marketable securities and a discrete tax benefit that lifted net income alongside the record adjusted figures. ⁵⁶

Together, these factors explain why management achieved record revenue ($469 million) and record adjusted net income ($233 million, $2.72/share) with earnings up sharply year over year. ¹⁵