Wall Street’s Sleeping Gold Giant Awakens With Moody’s Nod

While everyone’s chasing AI stocks, the real treasure might be hiding in plain sight. NewmontNEM

, the world’s largest gold miner and the only one in the S&P 500, just scored a Moody’s upgrade and a screaming buy from Barron’s. Still dubbed undervalued, this stock is up 94% YTD as gold chases record highs.

• Following an aggressive acquisition strategy for “tier-one assets,” the company’s debt surged to $6.4B in 2023 — but $5B has been paid down, leading to an A3 rating (low default risk).
• With EPS nearly doubling from last year,NEM
  ’s price trades just 13x higher — well below peers like Agnico EagleAEM
  , which enjoys an 18x price-to-earnings multiple.

The golden opportunity: Traditional miners like Newmont capture far more upside than gold ETFs thanks to operational leverage — when gold prices climb, their fixed costs stay put while profits soar. With ETFs still 17% below peak levels, JP Morgan thinks this runway looks long too, targeting $4K gold by Q2 2026. Even Trump’s surprise tariffs recently sent futures to $3.5K, creating ideal conditions for mining stocks. Still, as any prospector knows, every gold rush eventually meets its ghost town.