Our Portfolio companies will start reporting their second-quarter earnings in about 10 days. The numbers won’t be as stellar as Q1’s, what with commodity prices mostly down and diesel fuel prices up. But they’ll still be good. That means cash will continue to accumulate, encouraging company management to raise dividends, repurchase shares, and grow through acquisition.
The following table compares average Q1 prices versus estimated Q2 prices for some major commodities.
Gold and silver were down in Q2, copper was up a bit, and oil was up a lot. Meanwhile, diesel fuel, a major cost for most miners, was up along with oil. The result: Lower but still considerable free cash flow for gold/silver miners, flat (which is to say very strong) results for copper miners, and big sequential gains for the best-run oil companies. In short, mixed but generally good numbers.
These reports will be less exciting than we’re used to, but should still be helpful for those of us trying to decide what to buy next.
Here’s a list of bellwether commodity stocks’ Q2 release dates:
Freeport-McMoran (FCX), July 22
Newmont (NEM), July 23
Agnico Eagle (AEM), July 29
Exxon (XOM), July 31
Cameco (CCJ), July 31
Hecla Mining (HL), August 5
Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM), August 6
Franco Nevada (FNV), August 10
Pan American Silver (PAAS), August 12
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