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Canada’s largest gold companies are due to begin reporting fourth-quarter financial results this week, with Barrick Mining (ABX.TO)(B) up first before markets open on Thursday.
Gold futures (GC=F) clawed back ground on Tuesday, following a historic sell-off for precious metals in recent days. The plunge followed a blistering run for gold in 2025 that spilled over into January. Bullion hit an all-time high above US$5,608 per ounce on Jan. 29.
“Gold has entered a correction period and recent anomalous gains support a larger-than-average correction,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Josh Wolfson wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.
“Currently, gold’s recent correction of 14 per cent from recent highs already registers greater than the median eight per cent correction witnessed over the last 50 years in bull market cycles.”
Wall Street is still bullish. On Monday, JPMorgan called for the yellow metal to reach US$6,300 per ounce by the end of 2026. Goldman Sachs has a year-end target of US$5,400. RBC Capital Markets’ 2027 forecast is US$5,100.
For the fourth quarter, Wolfson says prices averaged US$4,152. For Canada’s senior producers, he expects free cash flow to improve on a quarterly basis, and margins to expand, despite rising costs.
Given the recent gold price volatility, the spotlight for investors will be on the guidance from executives on company conference calls.
“We expect mixed [year-end] updates by gold producers,” Wolfson wrote. “[Fourth-quarter] financials will set new records; however, forward-looking updates are the primary focus, where we forecast guided costs and capital represent a headwind. We see gold equities as presenting good value and not reflecting recent elevated spot gains, but near-term trading is still subject to gold-price corrections.”
Barrick is scheduled to report financial results on Thursday, Agnico Eagle Mines’ (AEM.TO)(AEM) are set for Feb. 12, while Kinross Gold (K.TO)(KGC) will announce theirs on Feb. 18.
Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on X @jefflagerquist.