The 2025 golden bull market sweeps through the capital markets, as Taiwan's three major gold trading firms and US stock mining companies usher in a gold rush.

Gold Prices Hit Record Highs, Gold Concept Stocks Become Market Favorites

Since the beginning of 2025, the international gold market has experienced a rare strong surge. In just three months, gold prices have hit new highs 20 times, with COMEX gold futures soaring $430 within 8 trading days before April 22, a 15% increase, breaking the psychological barrier of $3,500 per ounce for the first time in history. This surge has directly driven related gold concept stocks to become hot: Canadian mining giant Agnico Eagle (AEM) has risen a total of 42% year-to-date, South African miner DRDGold (DRD) surged 57%, and the SPDR Gold ETF (GLD), tracking spot gold prices, approached a 20% return.

Three Core Factors Driving the Gold Price Surge

Behind this gold bull market, three structural factors are resonating:

Geopolitical risk aversion intensifies. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, tense Middle Eastern situation, and the unpredictable tariff policies of the US Trump administration have heightened market risk aversion, strengthening gold’s status as the ultimate safe-haven asset.

Dollar’s credit foundation weakens. Expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts rise, the US dollar’s purchasing power declines, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, while also prompting central banks worldwide to seek alternative reserve assets.

Supply side remains tight. Central banks worldwide continue to buy gold, with official gold purchases in 2024 surpassing 1,000 tons for the third consecutive year. Mineral supply is constrained, recycling volumes decline, and supply-demand dynamics become increasingly strained.

US Gold Mining Stocks Soar with Outstanding Performance

US gold concept stocks can be divided into three main sectors along the industry chain: upstream mining and smelting companies (e.g., Newmont, Barrick Gold), midstream royalty companies (e.g., Franco-Nevada, Wheaton Precious Metals), and downstream jewelry manufacturers (e.g., Signet Jewelers).

Barrick Gold (GOLD), one of the world’s largest gold miners, performed excellently in Q1 2025. Gold production reached 758,000 ounces, revenue was $3.13 billion, up 13.8% year-over-year. Although production declined from 940,000 ounces last year, driven by significant gold price increases, the average realized price rose from $2,075 to $2,898 per ounce. Adjusted EPS was $0.35, surpassing market expectations of $0.30.

Newmont (NEM), the world’s largest gold producer and the only gold mining company listed in the S&P 500, posted a net profit of $1.9 billion in Q1 2025, nearly 11 times higher than the same period last year. EPS was $1.68, with adjusted EPS of $1.25, well above the market forecast of $0.9. Gold output decreased to 1.54 million ounces, but the gold price surged to a record high of $2,944 per ounce, up 41% from last year, driving strong profit growth.

Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) adopts a unique business model, signing “precious metal purchase agreements” with global mines, buying part of their physical metals at discounts. In Q1 2025, EPS was $0.55, exceeding expectations of $0.52, with revenue surpassing $470 million, higher than the estimated $417 million. Royal Bank of Canada raised its target price from $75 to $80 last month.

Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC) specializes in gold mining and processing, operating across the Americas, Russia, and West Africa. In Q1 2025, free cash flow doubled, and the company announced a $650 million shareholder capital return plan. The marginal profit per ounce sold increased significantly by 67% year-over-year to $1,814.

Taiwan’s Top Three Gold Traders Rise, Domestic Mining Stocks Reassessed

Taiwan has relatively few gold concept stocks, but the performance of its top three gold traders is worth noting.

KYMCO (1785) is a leading manufacturer of precious and rare metal recycling and processing materials in Taiwan. In Q1 2025, revenue reached NT$8.243 billion, up 30.6% YoY; gross profit was NT$1.219 billion, soaring 70.6%; operating profit NT$839 million, up 145%. Mainly driven by stronger precious metal prices and expansion of semiconductor target materials, non-precious metal value-added services have become a major profit source. Despite hedging losses caused by volatile precious metal prices, basic EPS reached NT$0.6, indicating solid core competitiveness.

Jin Yi Ding (8390) is Taiwan’s resource recycling leader, with precious metals recycling accounting for 30%, industrial metals for 50%. Benefiting from TSMC’s supply chain expansion, rising precious metal prices, and the turnaround of its Chinese subsidiary, in Q1 2025, consolidated revenue was NT$1.106 billion, gross profit NT$188 million, pre-tax profit NT$145 million, net profit attributable to parent NT$117 million, with basic EPS of NT$1.22, showing significant growth.

Jialong (9955) is a Taiwan precious metal refining company, with about 90% of revenue from metal sales, highly sensitive to gold price fluctuations. In Q1 2025, driven by rising global precious metal prices and recovering semiconductor demand, revenue was about NT$320 million, up 12% YoY; gross profit was NT$65 million, maintaining a 20% gross margin; after-tax net profit was NT$35 million, with EPS around NT$0.38, an 8% increase from last year.

Pros and Cons of Investing in Gold Concept Stocks

Compared to directly holding gold ETFs, gold concept stocks offer leverage benefits from gold surges. When gold prices rise, miners’ profit margins tend to increase more significantly, as evidenced in Q1 2025. Additionally, including gold concept stocks in a portfolio can effectively diversify risk; when cyclical stocks decline during economic downturns, gold stocks often perform countercyclically.

However, the disadvantages are also clear. Gold concept stocks exhibit much higher volatility than gold itself; from April to October 2022, gold fell 15%, but related concept stocks dropped as much as 38%. Moreover, miners face risks such as production costs, operational efficiency fluctuations, and regulatory challenges, making individual company risks relatively high.

Investment Strategies for Gold Concept Stocks

For ordinary investors, there are two main investment paths:

ETF Diversification: VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) focuses on large miners like Newmont and Barrick Gold, with a one-year return of 29.92%; VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) emphasizes small-cap companies, with a one-year return of 32.59%. Both are effective tools for risk diversification.

Direct Stock Ownership: Investors can open accounts with brokers to buy individual stocks; in Taiwan, direct trading is available, while in the US, it requires through a securities firm or overseas broker. For experienced investors, selecting quality stocks can yield higher returns.

Key Variables Affecting Gold Concept Stocks

Gold Price Trends are the most direct drivers. According to the World Gold Council, in Q1 2025, global gold demand reached 1,206 tons, a slight 1% increase YoY, reaching a new high since 2016 for the same period. Goldman Sachs forecasts gold could rise to $3,700 per ounce by the end of 2025, with extreme cases reaching $4,500.

Global Economic Conditions influence risk aversion. Expectations of recession and political uncertainties boost gold demand, providing ongoing support.

Monetary Policy Orientation determines holding costs. Low interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding gold, while high rates shift investment flows elsewhere.

Supply Chain Efficiency affects company profitability. Production costs, technological advances, and environmental regulations all impact corporate earnings.

Market Outlook and Investment Recommendations

Looking into the second half of 2025, gold concept stocks are expected to follow these trends:

Gold prices still have room to rise. Although short-term corrections may occur due to risk asset rebounds, ongoing geopolitical tensions, US-China trade uncertainties will continue to support safe-haven demand, maintaining a structural bull market momentum.

Mining capacity expansion accelerates. High gold prices stimulate exploration investments in resource-rich regions (Africa, Australia, South America). The global gold mining market size is projected to grow steadily from 2025 to 2030, with Asia and North America as key growth markets.

Technological innovation improves efficiency. AI and big data are transforming the entire gold mining process. In 2024, mining companies invested $218 million in AI systems, significantly improving cost structures.

Overall, gold concept stocks are undoubtedly a noteworthy investment opportunity in today’s capital markets. Investors should tailor their allocations between ETF diversification and selecting high-quality stocks according to their risk tolerance to maximize gains during this gold boom.