Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. WPM reported adjusted earnings per share of 33 cents in second-quarter 2024, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents. The bottom line improved 4.8% year over year. Wheaton generated revenues of around $299 million, which improved 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. The upside was caused by an 18% increase in average realized price, which was partially negated by a 4% decline in gold equivalent ounces (GEOs) sold. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $292 million.

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseWheaton Precious Metals Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. Quote

Wheaton’s gold production was 84,993 ounces, up from the prior-year quarter’s 83,180 ounces. Attributable silver production increased 14% year over year to 5,062 ounces and palladium production increased 11.8% to 4,338 ounces. The company produced 147,059 GEOs in the June-end quarter, up 7.2% from the prior-year quarter’s 137,176 GEOs.Wheaton sold 124,009 GEOs, down 4.4% from the last year’s quarter.

Prices

In the second quarter, the average realized gold price was $2,356 per ounce. The figure was 18.6% higher than the year-ago quarter. Silver prices were $29.11 per ounce, up 20.6% year over year. Palladium prices were $979 per ounce compared with $1,438 per ounce in the prior-year quarter. Cobalt prices improved 21.1% year over year to $16.02 per pound.

Financial Position

The company had around $540 million of cash in hand at the end of the second quarter of 2024 compared with $547 million at the end of 2023. It reported an operating cash flow of $234 million compared with $202 million in the prior-year quarter. The company has a $2 billion undrawn revolving credit facility.  The maturity date has been extended to Jun 25, 2029.

2024 Guidance

Wheaton projects attributable production to be between 550,000 GEOs and 620,000 GEOs. Notably, it produced 584,389 GEOs in 2023. Gold production is expected to be in the range of 325,000-370,000 ounces, indicating a slight decline from the 374,585 produced in 2023. Silver production is projected between 18.5 million and 20.5 million ounces, indicating growth from 17.2 million ounces in the prior year. The production of other metals is anticipated to be in the range of 12,000-15,000 GEOs. WPM produced 12,275 GEOs of other metals in 2023.

Price Performance

Shares of Wheaton have gained 24.5% in the past year against the industry’s 4% decline.

Zacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank

Wheaton currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Peer Performances

Teck Resources TECK reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of 58 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents by a margin of 23%. The bottom line marked a 37% plunge from earnings of 91 cents per share reported in the year-ago quarter.Net sales of TECK amounted to around $2.83 billion, an 8% increase from $2.62 billion in the year-ago quarter. The top line, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.92 billion.Reliance, Inc. RS recorded earnings of $4.65 per share. It lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.73. RS recorded net sales of $3,643.3 million, down around 6.1% year over year. The top line beat the consensus estimate of $3,603.9 million.Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s CLF second-quarter adjusted earnings were 11 cents per share, down from 69 cents in the prior-year quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at break-even. Revenues of CLF fell 14.9% to $5,092 million. The top line missed the consensus estimate of $5,199.9 million.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Reliance, Inc. (RS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Teck Resources Ltd (TECK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research