Agnico Eagle vs. Kinross Gold: Which Gold Miner is Shining Brighter?

By Anindya Barman | July 29, 2025, 7:53 AM

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM and Kinross Gold Corporation KGC are two prominent players in the gold mining space with global operations. While gold prices have retreated from their April 2025 highs, they remain favorable, supported by global economic uncertainties and trade and geopolitical tensions. Against this backdrop, comparing these two major gold producers is particularly relevant for investors seeking exposure to the precious metals sector.

Gold prices have shot up roughly 26% this year, largely attributable to aggressive trade policies, including sweeping new import tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, which have intensified global trade tensions and heightened investor anxiety. Also, central banks worldwide have been accumulating gold reserves, led by risks arising from Trump’s policies. Prices of the yellow metal catapulted to a record high of $3,500 per ounce on April 22. Increased purchases by central banks and geopolitical tensions are factors expected to support bullion prices.

Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of these two Canada-based gold miners to determine which one is a better investment now.

The Case for Agnico Eagle

Agnico Eagle is focused on executing projects that are expected to provide additional growth in production and cash flows. It is advancing its key value drivers and pipeline projects, including the Odyssey project in the Canadian Malartic Complex, Detour Lake, Hope Bay, Upper Beaver and San Nicolas.

The Hope Bay Project, with proven and probable mineral reserves of 3.4 million ounces, is expected to play a significant role in generating cash flow in the years to come. The processing plant expansion at Meliadine was completed and commissioned in the second half of 2024, with mill capacity expected to increase to roughly 6,250 tons per day in 2025.

The merger with Kirkland Lake Gold established Agnico Eagle as the industry's highest-quality senior gold producer. The integrated entity now has an extensive pipeline of development and exploration projects to drive sustainable growth. It also has the financial flexibility to fund a strong pipeline of growth projects.

AEM has a robust liquidity position and generates substantial cash flows, which allow it to maintain a strong exploration budget, finance a strong pipeline of growth projects, pay down debt and drive shareholder value. Its operating cash flow jumped roughly 33% year over year to record $1,044 million in the first quarter.

AEM generated solid first-quarter free cash flows of $594 million, up around 50% year over year, backed by the strength in gold prices and strong operational results. It remains focused on paying down debt using excess cash, with net debt reducing by $212 million sequentially to just $5 million at the end of the first quarter. Its long-term debt-to-capitalization is just around 5%. AEM also returned around $920 million to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases last year and $251 million in the first quarter.

AEM offers a dividend yield of 1.3% at the current stock price. It has a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 6.9% and a payout ratio of 32% (a ratio below 60% is a good indicator that the dividend will be sustainable).

The Case for Kinross

Kinross has a strong production profile and boasts a promising pipeline of exploration and development projects. Its key development projects and exploration programs, including Great Bear in Ontario and Round Mountain Phase X in Nevada, remain on track. These projects are expected to boost production and cash flow and deliver significant value. KGC also completed the commissioning of its Manh Choh project and commenced production during the third quarter of 2024, leading to a substantial increase in cash flow at the Fort Knox operation.

Tasiast and Paracatu, the company’s two biggest assets, remain the key contributors to cash flow generation and production. Tasiast remains the lowest-cost asset within its portfolio, with consistently strong performance. Tasiast achieved record annual production and cash flow in 2024 and is on track to meet its full-year 2025 guidance. Paracatu saw a strong start to the year, with first-quarter production rising on strong grades and improved mill recoveries.

KGC has a strong liquidity position and generates substantial cash flows, which allows it to finance its development projects, pay down debt and drive shareholder value. The company ended the first quarter with solid liquidity of roughly $2.3 billion. Kinross also generated record free cash flows of around $1.3 billion in 2024, driven by the strength in gold prices and strong operating margins. Free cash flow also more than doubled year over year to $370.8 million in the first quarter.

KGC repaid $800 million of debt during 2024 and the remaining $200 million of its term loan in the first quarter, reducing its net debt to around $540 million. Its long-term debt-to-capitalization is 14.4%.

KGC offers a dividend yield of 0.8% at the current stock price. It has a payout ratio of 14%, with a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of about -0.1%.

Price Performance and Valuation of AEM & KGC

Year to date, AEM stock has jumped 58.2%, while KGC stock has rallied 69.5% compared with the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s increase of 58.7%.