It’s not exactly news that the yellow metal has been shooting for the stars. Of course, economic uncertainty plays a huge part in this. Global conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war, trade disputes and political instability have made investors flock to gold as a traditional inflation hedge.
Psst: there's another major reason for the price hike: central banks worldwide are hoarding the shiny stuff like it's going out of fashion! This is especially true in emerging markets such as China, India and Poland. Well, you can’t blame them. These institutions are diversifying their foreign reserves away from the US dollar to mitigate risk and reduce reliance on a single currency. Get this: the World Gold Council says central banks have already snapped up a massive 634 tonnes of gold so far in 2025! We are of course looking at you, Donald Trump.
It also helps (depending on whose side you’re on) that the US dollar has kind of lost its groove lately. Gold and the US dollar often sit on opposite ends of a seesaw due to their traditional inverse relationship. The US Dollar Index (DXY) has taken a serious hit, dropping by over 9% so far in 2025.
Golden hour
This is great news for major players like Endeavour Mining, whose Q3 25 results showed a record gold price of 3,247/oz US Dollar. That’s 36% upwards from its 2,342/oz US Dollar figure in Q3 24.
Endeavour Mining’s gold production reached 264 koz in Q3 25, taking the annual contribution to a solid 911 koz. That yearly figure is a nice jump from the 741 koz recorded around the same time last year. The big wins in 9M 2025 came from snapping up low-cost Lafigué mine and the Sabodala-Massawa BIOX expansion in Q3 24.
Striking gold
Gold prices aiming for the sky have meant that the All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) climbed upwards. For Q3 25 the AISC stood at $1,569 per ounce, including a $131/oz increase driven by higher royalty fees, with gold prices being elevated lately. Naturally, profits are way up by 375% compared to last year. Q3 brought in $159m, bringing the total to $556m YTD in 2025.
This helped them generate a massive $166m in FCF for the quarter alone, keeping them well on track to meet the top half of their 2025 production guidance.
Streets are paved with…
Higher gold prices are putting a little extra "jingle" in Endeavour Mining shareholders' pockets. The company's stock has been on fire over the last year, soaring a massive 155%.
In addition, the company also returned a total of $33m to shareholders this year, including $83m through share buybacks and $150m through dividends (implying an annualized dividend yield of around 2%). It also plans to announce the next phase of its returns program and the H2 25 dividend in January 2026.
Better yet, twelve analysts covering the stock have set an average target price of CAD 76. The stock could potentially jump another 54% from its current levels.
Stumbling blocks
The company sure will have to dodge some serious wrecking balls. Macroeconomic risks for Endeavour Mining are exposed to volatile gold and oil prices, and fluctuating interest and foreign exchange rates. Operationally, the company is at the mercy of weather gods. On the environmental side, there’s the constant worry about messing up local ecosystems and water sources, all while trying to keep up with new regulations. Talk about a high stakes balancing act!
