Barrick Faces a Divided Shareholder Base Despite Record Gold Prices and Surging Cash Flow

Barrick Gold beats Q1 guidance with 719k oz gold, 66% margin, strong cash flow, but shareholder meeting shows dissent on executive pay.

Barrick Gold’s financial engine is firing on all cylinders, yet its annual shareholder meeting revealed a different kind of tension. The Toronto-based miner delivered first-quarter gold production of 719,000 ounces, comfortably above its own guidance range of 640,000 to 680,000 ounces, and copper output of 49,000 tonnes. But the headline numbers — a realized gold price of $4,823 per ounce, up 66% from a year earlier, and an attributable EBITDA margin of 66% — come with a governance niggle that could grow louder if operational momentum slips.

The cash story is strong. Barrick generated $2.55 billion in operating cash flow in the quarter and $1.21 billion in attributable free cash flow. That liquidity has allowed it to cut net debt, keep a net cash position of $2.4 billion, and sustain a shareholder return program that includes a quarterly base dividend of $0.175 per share due in June. A new buyback authorization of up to $3.0 billion adds further flexibility. Under Barrick’s top-up policy, half of the annual free cash flow is earmarked for distributions.

Cost management is giving the margin an extra lift. All-in sustaining costs fell roughly 4% year-on-year to $1,708 per ounce, a welcome achievement in an inflationary environment. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.98, well ahead of analyst forecasts.

Production momentum is expected to build. Management’s outlook for the second quarter points to gold output of 730,000 to 770,000 ounces, with the full year 2026 forecast unchanged at 2.90 million to 3.25 million ounces. In Chile, the company has secured an environmental permit for the Campanario project in the Coquimbo region, a $36 million, five-year exploration program involving 116 diamond drill platforms. The site sits near the historic El Indio mine and the long-dormant Pascua-Lama project, keeping Barrick’s South American ambitions alive. A separate $35 million project, El Alto in the Atacama region, received the green light in January.

Copper is gaining strategic weight. Barrick’s 49,000 tonnes of first-quarter output will be boosted by the Lumwana Super Pit expansion in Zambia, which is on track to double production by early 2028. Meanwhile, the company is pursuing a partial initial public offering of its U.S. assets, including Nevada Gold Mines, with a minority stake expected to list by the end of 2026.

Yet the annual general meeting delivered a sharp reminder that not all shareholders are satisfied. While every board nominee won re-election, the support levels varied widely: Robert A.P. Samek received 99.63% of votes, but John L. Thornton managed only 81.1%. The advisory “say-on-pay” vote on executive compensation passed with 76.66% approval, meaning nearly a quarter of ballots were cast against it — an unusually high protest for a major mining company. Auditor reappointment sailed through at 93.27%.

The stock reflects the mixed signals. After closing at C$61.50 on Wednesday, Barrick’s shares slipped to C$59.70 on Thursday, a one-day decline of 2.93%. On a 12-month view, the price has more than doubled, but it remains roughly 17% below the late-January high. The 200-day moving average sits at C$53.66, leaving the stock comfortably above that technical line. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $54.50 in U.S. dollars.

For now, the operational story — strong production beats, falling costs, and a clear pipeline of projects from Chile to Nevada — carries more weight than the governance grumble. But if exploration results disappoint or the U.S. asset IPO faces delays, the compensation debate could resurface faster than management would like.