How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in VALE S.A. (VALE) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to VALE for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
VALE S.A.'s Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at VALE S.A.'s main business drivers.
Brazil-based Vale S.A. is one of the world’s largest mining companies with a market capitalization of approximately $53.5 billion. It produces iron ore, iron ore pellets, copper, nickel. and also has operations in manganese, ferroalloys, gold, silver, and cobalt.
The company's diversified portfolio of high-quality products, strong technical marketing strategy, efficient logistics and long-standing relationships with major customers provides it a competitive edge.
In 2019, the Brumadinho dam rupture impacted production and also its reputation. The company has since been striving to prevent further accidents through improved standards and accelerated decommissioning of upstream dams. From 2019 till the third quarter of 2025, Vale has already invested $2.4 billion in the dam decharacterization program, of the total budgeted $4.7 billion. Vale has so far decharacterized 18 dams, representing 60% of the program. Over the 2025-27 period, four more dams are set to be decharacterized and eight dams are planned after 2029, leading to a total of 30.
Earlier on Nov. 5, 2015, the Fundão tailings dam at the Samarco Mariana Mining Complex collapsed and caused environmental and community impacts, claiming 19 lives. The dam was owned and operated by Samarco, a joint venture between BHP Group’s subsidiary and Vale. Vale, alongside Samarco and BHP, had been in negotiations with Brazilian authorities to seek a settlement for the obligations and other claims related to the dam failure. All of the parties reached a settlement in October, at approximately R$170 billion, comprising past and future obligations. Vale’s estimated disbursement is $2.5 billion in 2025, and $2.5 billion over 2026-2030.
Vale's principal lines of businesses are Iron Solutions (82% of revenues) and Energy Transition Materials (18%).
Iron Solutions operates four systems in Brazil for producing and distributing iron ore. Energy Transition Materials includes exploration efforts related to copper and nickel.
Bottom Line
While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in VALE S.A. ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.
A $1000 investment made in December 2015 would be worth $3,836.31, or a gain of 283.63%, as of December 3, 2025, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.
In comparison, the S&P 500's gained 228.41% and the price of gold went up 280.54% over the same time frame.
Analysts are forecasting more upside for VALE too.
Vale reported iron ore production of around 245.7 million tons (Mt) for the first nine months of 2025, which was 1.3% higher than the year-ago comparable period. The company maintained its 2025 iron ore production at 325-335 Mt in 2025. Vale plans to increase its production capacity to 340-360 MT in 2026 and 360 Mt by 2030, backed by the Vargem Grande 1 project and the Capanema Maximization project. The long-term outlook for iron ore and copper prices is positive. Iron ore prices will be supported by infrastructure demand in the United States and demand for electric vehicles will support copper prices. Focusing on improving productivity and cutting costs will mitigate the impact of high costs on Vale's margins. The company's efforts to lower debt levels are commendable.
Shares have gained 7.96% over the past four weeks and there have been 4 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2025 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
VALE S.A. (VALE): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
