NEM vs. EQX: Which Gold Mining Stock Is a Better Pick Now?

July 30, 2026 — 08:48 am EDT

Written by Anindya Barman for Zacks->

Newmont Corporation NEM and Equinox Gold Corp. EQX are two prominent growth-focused gold producers. While gold prices have pulled back sharply from their January 2026 highs, they remain supportive.

Heightened geopolitical tensions, a weaker U.S. dollar and tariff-related worries had driven bullion to a record high of nearly $5,600 per ounce in late January. Since then, gold has pulled back sharply due to inflation concerns triggered by a surge in crude oil prices amid Middle East tensions, with prices falling to $4,500 per ounce around the end of May.

Bullion continued to retreat in June, with prices slipping below $4,000 per ounce to a near eight-month low amid rate-hike expectations and a stronger greenback, despite reduced inflation concerns following the interim agreement between the United States and Iran. Aggressive profit-booking also contributed to the slump in gold prices.

Gold prices recouped some losses to climb above $4,100 per ounce recently, but again eased toward $4,000 per ounce as a surge in oil prices has stoked renewed inflation fears. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in the latest policy meeting notwithstanding renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities and inflation concerns, driving gold prices to near $4,100 per ounce.

Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of these two gold miners to determine which one is a better investment now.

The Case for Newmont

Newmont continues to invest in growth projects in a calculated manner. The company is pursuing several projects, including the Cadia Panel Caves and Tanami Expansion 2 in Australia. These projects should expand Newmont’s production capacity and extend mine life, driving revenues and profits.

In October 2025, NEM achieved a significant milestone at Ahafo North. It achieved commercial production at the project, which followed the first gold pour in September 2025. Ahafo North is expected to produce between 275,000 and 325,000 ounces of gold annually over an estimated mine life of 13 years.

NEM recently received key regulatory approvals from the Province of British Columbia for its Red Chris Block Cave Project, marking a major milestone in the planned transformation of the Red Chris Mine from an open-pit operation to a large-scale block-cave mine. The approvals take the project closer to a final investment decision, which Newmont expects to make later this year.

Newmont has also divested non-core businesses as it shifts its strategic focus to Tier 1 assets. The company generated $3.6 billion from its portfolio optimization actions in 2025. These funds will support Newmont’s capital allocation strategy, which focuses on reinforcing its balance sheet and delivering returns to its shareholders.

Newmont has a strong liquidity position and generates substantial cash flows, which allow it to fund its growth projects, meet short-term debt obligations and drive shareholder value. At the end of the second quarter of 2026, Newmont had robust liquidity of roughly $13 billion, including cash and cash equivalents of around $9 billion. Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to $2.9 billion in the second quarter, up roughly 23% from the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow increased to $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion a year earlier.

Newmont distributed $3.4 billion to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in 2025. It has returned $1.9 billion to its shareholders since April 23, 2026. Newmont has executed buybacks under the current $6 billion authorized share repurchase program, with $4.3 billion remaining under it. NEM offers a dividend yield of 1.1% at the current stock price. Its payout ratio is 11%.

Newmont also remains committed to deleveraging, reducing debt by roughly $3.4 billion in 2025. It ended the second quarter with a strong net cash position of $3.4 billion and remains actively focused on managing its debt.

NEM saw lower gold production for the second quarter, partly linked to its strategic divestment of non-core assets. The company reported a roughly 13% year-over-year and 1% sequential decline in attributable gold production to 1.29 million ounces. Lower output from Cadia and reduced grades across certain mines impacted production. Newmont expects third-quarter 2026 production to be largely in line with the second-quarter level.

The company anticipates gold production at about 5.26 million ounces for 2026, indicating a year-over-year decline from 5.89 million ounces in 2025. NEM expects lower production from Penasquito and Cadia in 2026 due to the site transitions. It also sees lower-than-expected production from Nevada Gold Mines and Pueblo Viejo. These will be partly offset by contributions from the newly commissioned Ahafo North mine.

Lower production is expected to lead to higher unit costs in 2026. NEM expects all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) — a critical cost metric for miners — to be $1,680 per ounce on a by-product basis, a notable increase from $1,358 per ounce in 2025. The expected increase is due to lower sales volumes as a result of planned mine sequencing, higher royalties and production taxes, deferral of sustaining capital from 2025 into 2026 and inventory changes. Newmont also sees a sequential rise in unit costs in the third quarter, mainly due to increased sustaining capital spending and higher oil prices. The production decline and higher costs could undercut the profitability goals.

The Case for Equinox Gold

Equinox Gold has rapidly evolved into a diversified, growth-focused gold producer. With operating mines spanning Canada, the United States and Brazil, it is targeting over one million ounces of annual production through an ambitious pipeline of expansions. It currently has five producing mines and three expansion projects that are expected to add more than 500,000 ounces of organic growth over the next few years. EQX remains on course to achieve its 2026 gold production guidance of 700,000-800,000 ounces.

EQX, in 2025, closed its transformative business combination with Calibre Mining Corp., creating an Americas-focused diversified gold producer anchored by two high-quality Canadian gold mines, Greenstone and Valentine. The integrated entity will become the second-largest gold producer in Canada with Greenstone and Valentine operating at nameplate capacity. Through this combination, Equinox Gold enhances its asset base with operating mines in Nicaragua and the United States, as well as earlier-stage assets in the United States.

Greenstone, which achieved commercial production in November 2024, achieved average mining rates of more than 199,000 tons per day in the second quarter. Greenstone is expected to produce around 320,000 ounces of gold on average annually with opportunities for further growth. EQX is advancing the Valentine Phase 2 expansion, which is expected to increase processing throughput to 5 million tons annually from the current 2.5 million tons per year and boost production by roughly 25%. The Phase 2 project at Castle Mountain in California is expected to increase production to an average of 218,000 ounces annually over a 14-year Phase 2 mine life, with further potential for expansion from exploration. A restart and expansion at Los Filos in Mexico is expected to add 280,000 ounces on average annually.

Equinox Gold inked a deal with Orla Mining Ltd. ORLA on May 13, 2026, for an at-market combination to create a North American senior gold producer. Once completed, the combined company will operate as Equinox Gold.

ORLA shareholders will receive 1.00 Equinox Gold common share and a nominal cash payment of $0.0001 for each Orla Mining common share as part of the deal. Annual gold production from the combined company is projected to be 1.1 million ounces, driven by a highly complementary portfolio of six North American mines.

Equinox Gold’s Greenstone mine in Ontario and the Valentine mine in Newfoundland & Labrador, along with Orla Mining’s Musselwhite mine, will have a cumulative production of 685,000 ounces of gold in Canada. Of this, Greenstone and Valentine mines are expected to produce 450,000 ounces, with Musselwhite contributing 235,000 ounces of gold. The proposed business combination has been approved by shareholders of both companies.

EQX has a strong balance sheet and generates substantial cash flows, which allows it to fund its growth projects and drive shareholder value. The company ended the first quarter of 2026 with strong liquidity of $923 million, including roughly $363 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. It also generated cash flow from operations (before changes in non-cash working capital) of $341 million in the quarter. It paid dividends worth $11.8 million to its shareholders in the quarter. EQX offers a dividend yield of 0.7% at the current stock price, with a payout ratio of 8%.

NEM & EQX: Price Performance, Valuation & Other Comparisons

NEM stock has rallied 47.1% over the past year, while EQX stock has gained 46.9%, compared with the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s 39.9% increase.