KGC's Debt Paydown Powers Balance Sheet Strength - Can It Continue?

Kinross Gold Corporation KGC has taken steps to improve its leverage profile, thanks to strong free cash flow generation. It repaid $800 million of debt during 2024 and the remaining $200 million of its term loan in the first quarter of 2025, reducing its net debt to around $540 million. 

Kinross improved its trailing 12-month net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 0.2X at the end of the first quarter compared to 0.3X as of year-end 2024. Its long-term debt-to-capitalization is 14.4%, below the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s 14.9%. 

KGC ended first-quarter 2025 with robust liquidity of roughly $2.3 billion, including cash and cash equivalents of $694.6 million. Free cash flow also more than doubled year over year to $370.8 million, driven by the strength in gold prices and strong operating performance.  

Kinross’ aggressive debt cut places it among the industry’s leanest leveraged names and positions it strongly alongside its peers. As gold prices remain supportive and strong cash flow generation continues, KGC is expected to maintain this sharp pace of deleveraging moving ahead.

Among its peers, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM has also made impressive strides in fortifying its balance sheet, underscoring its commitment to financial discipline. Agnico Eagle remains focused on paying down debt using excess cash, having reduced net debt by a staggering $1,287 million in 2024. Agnico Eagle further slashed net debt by $212 million sequentially to just $5 million at the end of the first quarter.

Newmont Corporation NEM is balancing deleveraging with post-Newcrest acquisition integration and asset streamlining through strategic non-core divestments. Newmont has reduced debt by $1 billion since the beginning of 2025. Newmont ended the first quarter with net debt of $3,221 million, down from $5,308 million at the end of 2024.

The Zacks Rundown for KGC

Kinross Gold’s shares have shot up 65.4% year to date against the industry’s rise of 49.5%, largely driven by the gold price rally.

From a valuation standpoint, KGC is currently trading at a forward 12-month earnings multiple of 11.59, a 4.1% discount to the industry average of 12.09X. It carries a Value Score of B.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KGC’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 77.9% and 16.7%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been trending higher over the past 60 days.

KGC stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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