Record-smashing 2025 from Wheaton Precious Metals: revenue, profit and cash flow all hit new highs
I’ll cut straight to it: Wheaton Precious Metals has delivered a monster 2025. The streaming specialist beat its production guidance and booked record revenue, earnings and operating cash flow, capped by a very strong fourth quarter. The company also unveiled a transformative deal to double its silver exposure at Antamina from April 2026.
Quick jargon buster for newer investors:
- Streaming agreement (PMPA): Wheaton pays an upfront amount to a mine owner for the right to buy a share of future metal production at a fixed ongoing price. It gives price leverage and exploration upside without operating a mine.
- Gold equivalent ounces (GEOs): a way to roll different metals into one number by converting silver, palladium and cobalt into gold using set price assumptions.
Headline numbers investors should know
| Metric | Q4 2025 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $865 million | $2,314.6 million |
| Net earnings | $558.3 million | $1,471.7 million |
| Adjusted net earnings | $555.0 million | $1,372.9 million |
| Operating cash flow | $746.3 million | $1,905.0 million |
| GEOs produced | 205,037 | 689,864 |
| Average cash cost (2025) | Not disclosed for Q4 GEOs | $514 per GEO |
| Cash balance (31 Dec 2025) | $1,153.6 million | |
| 2025 dividends declared | $0.66 per share | |
Two things powered the step-change: the average realised price per GEO was up 46% year-on-year, and GEOs sold rose 23%. That combination lifted the 2025 cash operating margin to $3,040 per GEO (Q4 margin: $3,941 per GEO), underscoring why fixed, low ongoing payments make the streaming model hum when metals rally.
Antamina silver stream: the biggest precious metals streaming deal ever
Post year-end, Wheaton agreed to acquire BHP’s 33.75% share of Antamina’s silver stream for $4.3 billion upfront. From 1 April 2026, Wheaton will receive a combined 67.5% of Antamina’s silver (up from 33.75%) until 100 million ounces are delivered, then 22.5% for life-of-mine. Ongoing payments are 20% of spot silver, and payable silver is fixed at 90.0%.
Funding will come from approximately $1.9 billion cash on hand at closing, a new $1.5 billion two-year term loan and an estimated $0.9 billion draw on the existing $2.0 billion revolving credit facility. Net debt at closing is expected to be about $2.4 billion. Management calls this flexible and non-dilutive – and on the numbers, it keeps plenty of liquidity in reserve.
Why it matters: Antamina is a long-life, tier-one asset. Management expects the added stream to contribute roughly 70,000 GEOs in 2026 alone, supporting a step up in group output and cash flow. The trade-off is higher leverage and sensitivity to the silver price – but on balance, I view this as a high-quality, accretive swing.
Guidance upgraded path: strong 2026 and a 2030 step-change
- 2026 guidance: 860,000 to 940,000 GEOs. Growth will be driven by the additional Antamina stream from April, plus contributions from Blackwater, Mineral Park, Fenix, Hemlo, Goose and Platreef. Constancia will be lower after Pampacancha’s depletion.
- 2030 target: approximately 1,200,000 GEOs, about 50% higher than 2025, with 1,200,000 GEOs maintained annually from 2031 to 2035 based on the current project set.
For me, the key takeaway is the de-risking across multiple projects. Wheaton now has streaming or royalty exposure to 23 operating mines and 25 development and other projects, with 85% of 2025 attributable production coming from the lowest half of industry cost curves.
Operational colour: what moved the dial in Q4
- Salobo (Brazil): a new quarterly record – 88,900 oz attributable gold on higher throughput and recoveries. After a stellar 2025, 2026 is guided slightly lower due to grade.
- Antamina (Peru): attributable silver up 49% year-on-year on higher grades and recoveries – a nice prelude to the enlarged stream from April.
- Peñasquito (Mexico): Q4 silver fell 26% on lower grades, but Newmont expects silver production to increase in 2026 as stockpiles are processed.
- Constancia (Peru): lower grades hit Q4. Hudbay expects higher mill throughput from H2 2026 after pebble crushers are installed, though 2026 gold output will be lower year-on-year.
- Blackwater (Canada): reached commercial production in May 2025. An unplanned ball mill gearbox failure on 12 March 2026 is expected to reduce Q1 output; repairs should take 8-10 days.
- Goose (Canada): commercial from October 2025; throughput enhancements are scheduled for H2 2026 with production weighted to H2.
- Voisey’s Bay (Canada): cobalt ramping well with full underground ramp-up expected by H2 2026.
Produced-but-not-yet-delivered (PBND) stood at about 155,000 GEOs at year-end, roughly 2.5 months of payable production – smack in the guided range and down from prior quarters thanks to strong Q4 sales.
Capital allocation and balance sheet: busy, but disciplined
Wheaton deployed $646 million in Q4 across Hemlo ($300 million), Koné ($156 million), Spring Valley ($50 million), Fenix ($50 million), El Domo ($44 million), Kurmuk ($44 million) and Kudz Ze Kayah ($2 million). Subsequent payments included $90 million for Spring Valley and Marmato and a $30 million repayment on Santo Domingo to be re-advanced later.
Cash at year-end was $1.2 billion. Importantly, even after the Antamina outlay, Wheaton expects ample headroom on the $2.0 billion revolver plus a $500 million accordion, supported by robust operating cash flows. That gives comfort around both existing commitments and optionality for further deals.
Dividend uplift and leadership change
The quarterly dividend has been increased to $0.195 per share for 2026, up 18% and the third consecutive annual rise. On governance, President Haytham Hodaly will become CEO on 31 March 2026, with Randy Smallwood transitioning to Chair. Continuity at the top matters here given the active growth pipeline.
What I like – and what to watch
Positives
- Blowout 2025 results across revenue ($2.3 billion), net earnings ($1.5 billion) and operating cash flow ($1.9 billion).
- Streaming model doing what it should in a rising price environment – margins expanded faster than gold prices.
- Antamina deal materially increases silver scale and near-term growth with high-quality counterparties.
- Production guidance signals a strong 2026 and a clear path to 1.2 million GEOs by 2030.
- PBND back to mid-range and liquidity remains solid.
Watch items
- Leverage rises with the $4.3 billion Antamina payment – repayment relies on continued strong cash generation and metal prices.
- Operational variability at counterparties (e.g. Blackwater’s gearbox outage, Constancia grade profile) can swing quarterly deliveries.
- Cash costs per unit increased versus 2024; still attractive, but worth monitoring if price momentum cools.
- Palladium exposure at Stillwater remains subdued and volatile.
My take for retail investors
This is a high-quality print backed by genuine operating momentum. The expanded Antamina stream is a bold move that fits Wheaton’s strategy: pay up for long-life, low-cost ounces with top-tier partners, then let the fixed per-ounce payments do the work as prices and volumes rise.
The main risk is the cycle. Higher debt loads feel fine when cash is gushing; they feel heavier if metal prices retrace or counterparties slip on schedules. That said, Wheaton’s balance sheet flexibility, diversified asset base and margin profile stack up well against peers.
Net-net, I see this update as clearly positive. If you want leverage to precious metals prices without running mine-site risk, Wheaton’s record 2025 and the Antamina step-up strengthen the investment case.
