Coeur Mining (CDE) Q4 2025 Earnings Transcript

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Date

Feb. 19, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET

Call participants

• President & Chief Executive Officer — Mitchell J. Krebs
• Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer — Michael Routledge
• Senior Vice President, Exploration — Aoife Mairead McGrath
• Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer — Thomas S. Whelan

Takeaways

• Full-year gold production -- Increased 723% year over year to a record high, primarily attributed to the Rochester expansion, the Silvercrest acquisition, and stable performance at three other North American mines.
• Full-year silver production -- Rose 5% year over year, also at record levels, driven by recent operational expansions and acquisitions.
• Full-year EBITDA -- Surged 200% to over $1 billion, with prior years cited at $142 million.
• Full-year free cash flow -- Reached $666 million compared to negative $9 million in 2024, indicating major cash generation turnaround.
• Year-end cash -- Increased more than tenfold to $554 million, reflecting enhanced liquidity and balance sheet strength.
• Net income -- Rose tenfold year over year to a record $586 million.
• Rochester (Nevada) full-year silver production -- Increased 40% and gold production grew 54% year over year, showing the impact of operational upgrades.
• Rochester free cash flow (Q4) -- Generated $78 million in the quarter, providing momentum for 2026.
• Las Chispas free cash flow -- Delivered $286 million in approximately 11 months, leading all mine sites in cash flow contribution.
• Consolidated Q4 production -- Achieved 112,000 ounces of gold and 4.8 million ounces of silver.
• Adjusted Q4 cash costs -- Average costs per ounce were $1,207 for gold and $17.29 for silver, supporting margin gains.
• Wharf mine reserve update -- Mine life nearly doubled to 12 years, with an additional 500,000 ounces of gold reserves and 1 million ounces of inferred resources established.
• Palmarejo reserve growth -- Gold-equivalent reserves advanced 40%, from 1.4 million ounces to 2 million ounces, and inferred resources also increased by over 1 million gold-equivalent ounces.
• Exploration investment -- 2026 budgeted at $120 million to $136 million, a 47% annual increase.
• Return on invested capital (ROIC) -- Achieved 26% in 2025, described as "peer-leading."
• Q4 free cash flow -- Rose 66% sequentially to $313 million, with every mine generating at least $50 million in the quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin -- Rose 60% quarter over quarter to 63% in Q4.
• Total debt -- Declined by $250 million (42% year over year), enabling Coeur Mining to achieve a net cash positive position.
• Total liquidity -- Approached $1 billion at year-end, enhancing financial flexibility.
• Standalone 2026 production guidance -- Calls for a 10% increase in silver output with silver expected to account for 42% of revenue; guidance excludes pending New Gold transaction assets.
• New Gold acquisition -- Anticipated to close in the first half, with projected full-year run rates of $3 billion EBITDA and $2 billion free cash flow for the combined entity (using October consensus commodity prices).
• Buyback program -- $75 million announced; limited execution in 2025 due to transaction-triggered restrictions, with planned update to capital return strategy upon deal closure.
• Cash tax guidance -- Set at $400 million to $500 million for 2026, with 80% related to Mexican operations per management.
• U.S. net operating loss (NOL) pools -- Declined by $100 million year over year to $530 million, expected to be largely utilized within approximately two years at current profitability levels.
• Mine cash costs -- Kensington achieved its lowest quarterly gold cash cost of the year at $1,533 per ounce in Q4.
• Reserves and resources -- Across portfolio, proved and probable reserves rose 10% and inferred resources increased 40% year over year.
• Las Chispas mine modeling -- Management explained a conservative resource-grade reduction “consistent with how we do it at our other mines,” supported by reconciliation after nearly a year of operation.
• Palmarejo mine life -- Extended by five years; Las Chispas’ mine life remains at approximately seven years following exploration success.
• Wharf crusher fire -- Tertiary crusher fire impacted upper-level infrastructure; unaffected cone crushers and swift deployment of mobile crushing units enabled continuity, with full repairs expected by end of Q2 2026.
• Wharf Q4 free cash flow -- Generated $62.3 million during the quarter.
• Operations hedging -- Management stated, “we are going to remain unhedged, keep focusing on what we can control on the cost side.”
• Rochester recovery rates -- Silver recovery is expected to improve to just below 60% as fine crush sizes are achieved, matching model projections.
• Rochester Q4 operational metrics -- Crushed over 7 million tons for the quarter, reaching best-ever performance levels.
• Kensington Q4 production -- Produced 30,000 ounces of gold, with record ton milled and grade for the year, and generated free cash flow of $51 million.

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Risks

• Tertiary crusher fire at Wharf caused damage to conveyor belts and electrical systems, with repairs needed through Q2 2026 and temporary mobile units compensating in the interim.
• Management cautioned that Q1 is “always seasonally low from an operating cash flow profile with significant year-end payments” related to Mexican tax and annual incentives.
• U.S. net operating loss pools are expected to be largely depleted within approximately two years at current earnings levels, resulting in a growing U.S. cash tax position.

Summary

Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE) reported record financial and production figures driven by expansionary initiatives, accretive acquisitions, and disciplined cost management. Strategic priorities include closing and integrating the New Gold transaction, sustaining exploration investment, and delivering increased returns to shareholders via buybacks and other capital allocation initiatives. The company provided clear standalone and post-acquisition financial outlooks, while management emphasized operational improvements, record-wide margin expansion, and a tactical decision to remain unhedged amid a supportive price environment.

• Management stated a preference for share buybacks over dividends “given the flexibility that that provides,” with a comprehensive update to return-of-capital plans promised post-transaction.
• Exploration spending will increase at both existing operations and, post-close, likely at Rainy River to pursue further resource expansion opportunities.
• Palmarejo’s future production mix may gradually shift as continued exploration targets gold outside the current streaming agreement, but management noted that “for the near future, expect virtually all of the production to be subject to the stream.”
• Technical advancements at Rochester and continued exploration success across the portfolio are expected to further extend asset lives and support top-line growth.

Industry glossary

• NI 43-101: Canadian securities regulation for mineral project disclosure standards, requiring detailed technical reporting on reserves, resources, and exploration results.
• Area of interest (AOI) / Franco-Nevada stream: The geographic scope subject to a precious-metals streaming agreement with Franco-Nevada, affecting revenue sharing and mine economics at Palmarejo.
• Crushed tons/crusher circuit: Mined material processed at site crushers as a key step in metal recovery efficiency and production volume.
• P80: The particle size at which 80% of the crushed material passes; critical for optimizing recovery in heap leaching or milling operations.
• Net operating loss (NOL) pools: Cumulative tax losses carried forward to offset future taxable income, delaying cash tax obligations.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Our record fourth quarter results capped off an incredible year for the company that was full of all-time bests and record achievements. I want to take a couple of minutes to run through a few of them, some of which are shown on Slide 4. Record full-year silver and gold production increased 5% and 723% year over year, respectively, driven by the impact of the Rochester expansion, the acquisition of Silvercrest in February, and consistent performance from our three other North American operations. Full-year record EBITDA increased 200% to over $1,000,000,000 and full-year free cash flow increased to $666,000,000 versus negative $9,000,000 in 2024.

Slide 8 does a nice job summarizing how far we have come in just the last couple of years when EBITDA was just $142,000,000 and free cash flow was negative $297,000,000. Our year-end cash increased more than 10x to $554,000,000 and net income last year also increased tenfold to a record $586,000,000. Our three U.S. operations accounted for nearly 60% of our 2025 revenue and silver represented about 35% of total revenue last year. Rochester made consistent progress toward achieving steady-state levels throughout 2025 with full-year silver and gold production increasing 40% and 54% year over year, respectively.

In the fourth quarter, Rochester made a strong statement by delivering record quarterly crushed tons and placed tons along with $78,000,000 of free cash flow, which sets us up for an even stronger 2026 at America’s largest source of domestically produced and refined silver. Las Chispas finished the year as our top cash flow generator with $286,000,000 of free cash flow, in only 10.5 months of contribution. Just as important was the successful and safe integration of Las Chispas last year, which deserves a big shout out to the entire team.

On the exploration front, and our year-end reserves and resources that we issued yesterday, it is really gratifying to see the success of our sustained exploration investments and how they continue to drive up our overall ROIC and extend our mine lives, which Slide 16 does a good job of highlighting. The Wharf reserve and inferred resource increases and the near doubling of its mine life to 12 years was especially eye-popping, and the Palmarejo results that drove a five-year extension to its mine life were also very impressive, especially the resource growth off to the east. It was also great to see that we replaced a year of mine life at Las Chispas to remain at approximately seven years.

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, it is clear that Coeur is in the strongest position it has ever been in its 98-year history and is poised to deliver another record year this year. Our newly issued standalone production guidance summarized on Slide 6 reflects solid year-over-year growth, especially in silver with a 10% expected year-over-year increase, which incorporates a full year of production at Las Chispas and another expected step up in performance at Rochester. Between higher silver prices and this expected growth in our silver production, silver is expected to contribute approximately 42% of our total 2026 revenue based on current prices and the midpoint of guidance.

And with the expected first-half closing of the New Gold transaction, 2026 will represent an even more significant step change in the quality, scale, and resiliency of Coeur, which is highlighted on Slide 7. Adding New Gold’s two Canadian operations will further reduce our cost profile and enhance our geographic footprint for investors seeking lower-risk silver and gold exposure and peer-leading margins. This new and unique platform is emerging at precisely the right time and will be ideally positioned as the industry’s only all-North American senior producer with a cash flow, liquidity, and market profile that is unmatched in the precious metals sector.

As we said on the November conference call when we announced the New Gold acquisition, we expect the combined company to generate approximately $3,000,000,000 of EBITDA and $2,000,000,000 of free cash flow on a full-year run-rate basis based on consensus commodity prices from last October. I will note that the guidance we issued today does not yet include contributions from the New Gold assets, which will be incorporated in the Coeur production profile following the close of the transaction.

Looking out over the next few weeks, we anticipate an active flow of news including the close of the New Gold transaction, which remains on track and we believe has a good chance to close by the end of the first quarter. Updated NI 43-101 technical reports for New Afton and Rainy River will be filed upon closing of the transaction, which will incorporate year-end 2025 reserves and resources for both, including a maiden resource at New Afton’s K Zone. We will also provide updated guidance for the combined company and share details of our updated capital return priorities once the transaction closes.

Before handing the call over to Mick, I will close with a big thank you to the team for the incredible amount of work that has gone into getting the company to where it is today. Closing out strongly in the fourth quarter is always a challenge, and year-end reporting is always a heavy lift. But these efforts are even more impressive this time around in light of the New Gold transaction and the related integration planning process. Higher prices certainly help, but there is absolutely no doubt that we are as well positioned as we are because of the talent, resiliency, and dedication of our people across the entire organization. Mick, over to you. Thanks, Mitch.

Our fourth quarter was a tour de force of the Coeur portfolio, with all five mines hitting the straps, in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Strong finishes at all of the mines, especially at Rochester, helped ensure the achievement of our annual 2025 production and cost gains.

Michael Routledge: Consolidated production for the quarter totaled 112,000 ounces of gold and 4,800,000 ounces of silver. Adjusted cash costs per ounce for gold and silver also continued to be well managed with an impressive $1,207 per ounce and $17.29 per ounce, respectively, and allowed for a strong margin expansion across the business. Turning to the assets and beginning with Las Chispas, the team turned in another solid quarter to cap off a great 2025 in its first year in the Coeur portfolio. Silver production of 1,400,000 ounces and gold production of 15,000 ounces led to $79,000,000 of quarterly free cash flow. The operation’s 2026 guidance reflects a full year of production compared to the approximate 10.5 months of 2025 contributions.

Turning to Palmarejo, the mine followed up one of its strongest quarters in terms of tons milled with an even better result in the fourth quarter with over 470,000 tons milled averaging over 6,000 tons per day. Together with strong grades and recoveries, Palmarejo’s free cash flow totaled $63,000,000. The team in Chihuahua has demonstrated great results with its fill-the-mill strategy, a unique skill set that we expect to leverage at Rainy River in the future, which is undergoing a similar transition from open pit operations to underground. Our 2026 guidance points to another great year ahead for Palmarejo.

Turning to Rochester, performance metrics along the crusher circuit saw marked improvement versus the prior quarter concurrent with the fourth quarter completion of planned modifications and build improvements. We exceeded 7,000,000 tons, or 6,400,000 metric tons, crushed this quarter, which was a nice achievement for the team. It has been impressive to see the mine’s steady improvements in silver and gold production as the power of the new crusher train continues to drive results, reaching the highest levels in 2025 at 1,700,000 ounces of silver and 17,000 ounces of gold, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

On an annual basis, the positive impact of Rochester’s larger scale really stands out with silver and gold production increasing 40% and 54%, respectively, compared to 2024. I am pleased to report that the average particle size continued to beat the budget level for material passing through all three stages of crushing at a P80 around 0.84 inch in the fourth quarter. Importantly, related recoveries continue to track our PSD models as expected. The team is also hard at work on the next phase of the leach pad 6 expansion, most of which we expect to complete this year. Rochester is well positioned for an even stronger 2026.

We are off to a great start with over 2,300,000 metric tons crushed in January. Grades are expected to be lower in the first half of the year, consistent with the mine plan, which is reflected in our 2026 guidance. Our long-term focus remains on building consistency and momentum through the three-stage crushing line and continuing to deliver quarterly crushed tons in the 6,200,000 to 7,200,000 metric tons per quarter range as we drive towards our ultimate objective of a top size of five-eighths of an inch. Based on the midpoints of our 2026 guidance ranges, we expect silver and gold production to increase substantially compared to 2025.

Moving to Kensington, the positive benefits of their multi-year underground development program continue to manifest in the form of new efficiencies and operational flexibility. The team knocked it out of the park with its highest tons milled and gold grade of the year in the fourth quarter, leading to gold production of 30,000 ounces and the mine’s lowest quarterly cash costs of the year at $1,533 per ounce. This led to quarterly free cash flow of $51,000,000, Kensington’s best result ever. Coupled with the successful reserve additions announced yesterday, the mine remains on excellent footing and well positioned to deliver a strong 2026.

Finishing up at Wharf, quarterly gold production totaled 25,000 ounces, leading to free cash flow of an impressive $62,300,000. These good results were overshadowed by a fire in the mine’s tertiary crusher following routine maintenance in the fourth quarter. The tertiary crusher area sustained some damage in the upper levels impacting conveyor belts, ancillary equipment like the hoist, crane, and electrical systems, and those parts will need to be repaired or replaced. There was no damage to the four tertiary cone crushers in that area on the ground floor. The team quickly mobilized temporary mobile crushing units at site in January to supplement crushed ore tons. Repairs are expected to be completed over the course of the second quarter.

Slide 6 provides an indicative expectation for 2026 quarterly production showing a second-half-weighted crushed tons as the site returns to normal operations throughout the year. As highlighted in yesterday’s reserves and resources update, the future at Wharf is more exciting than ever thanks to the resounding success of recent exploration and technical work that have unlocked new gold reserves leading to a near doubling of mine life, with additional upside remaining from a significantly larger resource pipeline. We look forward to many great years ahead at this one-of-a-kind asset. With that, I will pass the call over to Aoife. Thanks, Mick. 2025 was a very strong year for exploration with great results seen across the board.

Key highlights include not only replacement of depletion across the portfolio, but growth of reserves by 10%. As Mitch and Mick have mentioned, Wharf and Palmarejo were standout contributors in this regard. Inferred resources also grew by a whopping 40% across the portfolio, led by a 216% increase at Wharf, an 86% increase at Palmarejo, and 30% growth at Rochester. Moving to key highlights for the year, at Wharf, the Juno, North Foley, and Wedge exploration and technical programs were very successful. In addition to increasing gold reserves by 500,000 ounces, 1,000,000 ounces of inferred resources were added.

This is a phenomenal result for relatively modest levels of investment, and this has set us up for another year of conversion to reserves in 2026 and in the future. Earlier-stage scout work will also restart this year to help build an even longer-term future at this operation. We had a very busy year at both Mexican operations, with up to 26 rigs across both sites. At Palmarejo, reserves saw a very large increase of almost 40%, moving from 1,400,000 ounces on a gold-equivalent basis to 2,000,000 ounces. Our other key aim of bolstering the inferred pipeline was very successful, with over 1,000,000 gold-equivalent ounces added, and this is in addition to 400,000 new in the measured and indicated categories.

The non–Franco-Nevada area-of-interest deposits of La Unión, San Miguel, and Independencia Sur were key contributors, along with Hidalgo on the main mine corridor. All these deposits will continue to undergo aggressive exploration in 2026 along with ongoing early-stage work across the district. At Las Chispas, exploration programs resulted in maintaining mine life, in addition to the discovery of multiple new veins, including Augusta, La Preamesa, and Lupita. The exploration pace is expected to continue at similar levels in 2026, involving a healthy mix of scout expansion and infill drilling. Programs at the other sites also fulfilled their aims as laid out at the start of 2025, with depletion more than replaced at Kensington and nearly replaced at Rochester.

Our understanding of the system at Silvertip is progressing rapidly, and programs successfully grew the mineralized footprint by another kilometer to the site. This gives a new focus area for infill drilling over the coming years in order to support the study programs underway. Looking ahead to 2026, total exploration investment is expected to increase to between $120,000,000 and $136,000,000 to continue pursuing the high-return opportunities we have across the portfolio. With that, I will turn the call over to Tom. Thanks, Aoife.

Thomas S. Whelan: Beginning with the financial summary on Slide 10, we are excited to reveal the record-setting full-year results that Mitch highlighted a few minutes ago. 2025 was truly a transformative year. There were so many highlights and quarterly financial records to choose from, but here are a few of our favorites. It was particularly gratifying to see every mine deliver at least $50,000,000 free cash flow in the quarter. We saw a 66% increase in free cash flow to $313,000,000 during Q4 highlighted by Rochester’s $78,000,000 of quarterly free cash flow. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 63%, which was a 60% increase quarter over quarter. Our return on invested capital was a peer-leading 26% in 2025.

Quarterly realized gold and silver prices increased 21% and 40%, respectively, and have only continued to strengthen in 2026. We are expecting another record-setting year in 2026 for the CDE standalone portfolio and look forward to providing updated guidance including Rainy River and New Afton once the transaction closes. One note of caution: Q1 is always seasonally low from an operating cash flow profile with significant year-end payments primarily related to Mexican tax and our annual incentive plans. As shown on Slide 9, you can see the net effect of this cash deluge coursing through Coeur’s balance sheet. As previewed during last quarter’s call, we achieved our long-standing goal of being net cash positive.

Total debt declined $250,000,000, or 42% year over year, and we ended the year with a cash balance of $554,000,000 and now have total liquidity nearing $1,000,000,000 and climbing. We made some progress on our $75,000,000 buyback program that we announced during the second quarter. We were fairly limited in our ability to execute the buyback program during the second half of the year due to trading restrictions related to the New Gold transaction. This limitation will end upon the closing of the transaction when we intend to announce a robust update to our return of capital strategy.

Our capital allocation framework will remain disciplined with a continued focus on generating strong returns on invested capital and deploying excess cash in ways that create the greatest long-term value for stockholders. Concurrent with the strengthening price environment, we enhanced our annual guidance related to cash taxes and royalties to reflect the champagne problems of higher commodity prices. One final update from me: we look forward to the closing of the New Gold transaction and to welcoming our new Canadian colleagues to the Coeur team. Robust integration planning has been underway since mid-November and we are prepared for day one after closing. With that, I will now pass the call back to Mitch. Thanks, Tom.

Before we open it up for Q&A, I just want to touch on several key priorities and themes for the year ahead on Slide 18. Of course, continuing to build on our safety and environmental performance always remains priority number one. Successfully closing the New Gold transaction and accomplishing a smooth integration is obviously a critical priority for the year. A full year of steady contribution from Las Chispas, a further step up at Rochester, and delivering on Wharf’s back-half-weighted plan are also key drivers for the year ahead. And as Aoife mentioned, we are allocating a record amount of capital to exploration investments in 2026, a 47% increase compared to 2025 levels.

Delivering the expected results from these programs to keep driving our ROIC higher and adding mine life is also a key priority in 2026. At Silvertip, we plan to continue advancing the project with a potential transition into a pre-feasibility study based on the results of the initial assessment that is now wrapping up. With higher silver prices, continued drilling success, solid project front-end loading, and Canadian support for critical minerals projects like Silvertip, there could be an attractive path forward to adding to our future silver profile that we look forward to evaluating together with our Board.

And finally, we look forward to updating you on the impacts of the New Gold transaction once it closes with combined full-year guidance, reserve and resource updates from New Afton and Rainy River, and details regarding the path forward for returning capital to stockholders. With that, let us go ahead and open it up for questions.

Operator: We will now begin the question and answer session.

Michael Siperco: And the first question today comes from Wayne Lam with TD Securities.

Operator: Please go ahead.

Mitchell J. Krebs: Yes. Thanks, everyone. Congratulations on a good quarter. I just want to start off with a question on the reserve grades at Las Chispas. It seems as though there was a big haircut taken on the grades now the past couple of years. Is that a function of a lower cutoff grade or reinterpretation there? And then just given the mine grades have been well ahead of reserve since the start-up of the mine, when will we start to see a bit of a normalization of the grade profile there? Yes. Sure. Hi, Wayne. Thanks for those questions. I will start, and Mick, Aoife, if you want to chime in.

I think on the Las Chispas grade profile, it really reflects a more conservative approach to modeling that we took here after taking the reins last February. It is consistent with how we do it at our other mines. It is something we had identified in the due diligence actually that grade was being overestimated, tons underestimated. And so after operating it for 10.5 months, we incorporated that into the year-end resource model, but Mick, anything you want to add to that or Aoife?

Michael Routledge: Yes. From an operational perspective, that is what we expected, and after running the site for a year, that is exactly what we found. It reconciled very well to the due diligence that we saw. We tested the plant to make sure that it could run at those slightly higher run rates to make sure we could still deliver against the budget, and we did exactly that. Aoife, any thoughts?

Aoife Mairead McGrath: Yes. And I think it is certainly not due to disappointing drill results. I think we have seen the opposite to that this year, particularly at Las Chispas where we had in our due diligence and our expectations were for lower grades in that block. So we have been very surprised with the tenor of the grade out there as well.

Mitchell J. Krebs: And so to Wayne’s second question about just go-forward grades, should we see more of a tighter fit between reserve grades and actual results?

Michael Routledge: Yes. And we are seeing that. We saw some of that and we thought we trended in that direction and that is what we did. So going forward, we should see that normalize to the expected planned levels.

Mitchell J. Krebs: Does that help, Wayne? Yes. That is really good color. Thanks. Yes. Maybe on the exploration results, a pretty good update on the resource additions across the portfolio. Just wondering on the maiden resources you guys reported at East Palmarejo, are those all outside of the Franco stream? And when could we envision those being brought into production? And then just wondering with the guided sales under the stream in the 40% to 50% range this year, which is slightly lower year over year, how should we be thinking about that number over the next few years? And should we expect that to continue to decline? Yes.

I will start off, and then maybe, Tom, or Mick on the shape of the percentage inside and outside over time. But in short, all of those ounces are outside of the area of interest that the Franco-Nevada gold stream covers. The bulk of them were further off to the east out there in that Guazipares area that Aoife mentioned. And so the near-term stuff, the Independencia Sur, kind of extension of Independencia down there to the south and east, you know, that represents a nearer-term opportunity for us.

And then in the meantime, we will continue to expand and extend hopefully those resources off there further to the east, and that can develop a potential future source of ore or maybe even a standalone operation depending on where we end up with that additional drilling here over the next few years. In terms of percentage inside and outside, how should we think about that?

Michael Routledge: Yes. It is virtually all inside the AOI the next couple of years until we get some more success in the areas that you just described, Mitch. But exploration-wise, we will be, this year, 70% or so of the exploration budget at Palmarejo will be outside of the area of interest over there to the east. Do you want me to comment on Icasol, Mitch? Because the Icasol area is close to infrastructure underground. And so, you know, there is some ventilation work that we will need to do to develop that and some minor permitting.

But as Aoife and the team characterize that better, then that will certainly fall into the nearer term next few years as we get a little bit off the and look at that balance.

Aoife Mairead McGrath: Yes.

Mitchell J. Krebs: And in terms of the upside, we have a number of deposit sets there, like San Miguel is a mix of gold and silver, and La Unión is predominantly gold. So it is really going to give us some nice operational flexibility as we develop that further in the next number of years. Okay. Perfect. Yes. So that is quite a, yes, sounds like quite a considerable future opportunity. So appreciate the detail on that. Maybe just last one for me. Just on the cash tax guidance of $400,000,000 to $500,000,000 this year, do you have any additional color on what a breakdown of that looks like between Mexico versus the other operations?

And just wondering if you still have tax pools to draw on, particularly in the U.S., or does that guidance assume at some point full depletion of those capital pools? Tom, do you want to take that? My favorite. Thanks, Wayne, for asking the tax question. I would think 80% of the taxes are in Mexico. And so, we are going to be paying some cash tax in the United States. And it is just mainly because of the way the tax pools or the tax losses work. We will be sheltering the bulk of the net income, but there is still going to be a little bit that ends up being paid.

So if you want to use that 80/20 breakdown and apply that to the guidance, that would be my, that is the guidance. Okay. Great. Thanks. That is really good color. Congratulations again on a good quarter, and looking forward to seeing the closing of the New Gold transaction. Thanks, guys. Yes. Thanks for the questions, Wayne.

Operator: And your next question comes from Josh Wolfson with RBC. Please go ahead. Yes. Thanks very much. Just looking forward at the upcoming closing and the capital returns comments that were made earlier, is there any kind of preference the company has in terms of dividends or buybacks here? How is the company thinking about those two aspects? Apologies, not to totally front-run your upcoming announcement.

Mitchell J. Krebs: Yes. We do not want to steal our own thunder before we get to the closing when we will roll out a clearer path forward on return of capital. But suffice to say, those are the two levers that we have been looking at and thinking about and talking about with our Board. Obviously, a slight preference more for the buyback route just given the flexibility that provides, but recognizing that, look, on a combined basis, you know, we look across the peers and know we are sensitive to making sure that we are benchmarking well against the peers as far as how we think about returning excess cash back to our stockholders.

Operator: All right. Thanks. And then another question, it is tribal on the same lines. Given the financial positioning and free cash flow outlook, the company has been, you know, active in increasing the exploration budgets and investment across the portfolio. How are you thinking about that for the New Gold assets? Is there anything that you can look to accelerate in 2026 there? Any specific opportunities at least from some of the early integration analysis? Thank you.

Mitchell J. Krebs: Yes. No, thanks, Josh. Good question. I think, let us get past the close and the integration, ensure continuity, but we are looking at how can we allocate some additional capital to exploration at both sites, in particular probably Rainy River as you think about some of the regional opportunities there on that big land package. But I think we will want to take a little bit of time, make sure we have got our ducks in a row, got the team aligned, and then we take the next step as far as potentially ratcheting up the level of investment in exploration, in particular at Rainy River. Aoife, anything you want to say?

Aoife Mairead McGrath: No. That is pretty much covered, is it not? Yes.

Mitchell J. Krebs: Some great opportunities there. I mean, obviously, both operations, but I think at Rainy River, we will apply that same playbook, Josh, that we have used successfully at our other operations, and it takes time and capital and some commitment. But I think over time there is a lot of potential there. Great. Thank you very much. Yes. You bet. Thanks for the questions.

Operator: And your next question today comes from Joseph George Reagor with ROTH Capital Partners. Please go ahead. Hey, Mitch and team, thanks for taking the questions.

Mitchell J. Krebs: Yes. Hi, Joe.

Operator: So I just have to ask on Rochester, and I know Mick touched on it a bit. But I know that the model seems to be internally matching the recoveries; you know, as we see them, they seem a bit light on the silver side, particularly. At what point do you guys have to go back and kind of reassess the economics of the project? Or is it just a matter of getting the particle size to where it is supposed to be and then you expect the recoveries will improve accordingly?

Mitchell J. Krebs: Yes. It is much more the latter there, Joe. And Mick, you can add to anything that I say. But you are right, actual results are tracking model for the product size that we are putting out there on that stage six leach pad. As we continue that progression from a P80 5/8 down to P80 5/8, we would expect to see the recoveries continue to track model and improve. Gold is less sensitive, but in particular on the silver, we would expect to see, as we get close to that 5/8, those recoveries ratchet up to just shy of 60%.

It is just, as you know, Joe, it is lower and longer on the silver recovery curve relative to gold. Mick, anything you want to add?

Michael Routledge: Yes. And, you know, the focus in 2025, as we said a few times, was really around getting that throughput level up above the 7,000,000 tons, or the 6,200,000 tons per quarter, and we are starting to get really into that range and look to make that sustainable. There were some really good development projects that we did in November to help us with that and to focus on the reliability of the crusher. And so 2026 is really about trying to hone that in and drive those crush sizes down with the equipment that we have got and then a few small projects throughout the year to get that in tune.

But yes, it is a good path forward and we are really in the range of what it said it would do on the packet. We have now just got to match the ore body knowledge with the capability of that crusher and make sure that it is doing it every day. But overall, we are really happy about the progress so far.

Joseph George Reagor: Okay. And then one other one. Some of your peers have been, maybe not successfully, but purchasing puts on things like gold and silver as a way to hedge downside, given we have seen some record high prices. Is that something you guys are going to consider doing? Or, you know, I think in the past, you have used some collars. Or are you guys, given the cash flow situation in the company, just going to kind of leave it exposed to the market?

Mitchell J. Krebs: Yes. You are right. You know, as you recall, Joe, we did use some hedging during the Rochester capital project to kind of help shore up the cash flow and the balance sheet. We are always looking at those things, but as we sit here today, we are going to remain unhedged, keep focusing on what we can control on the cost side to keep pushing ourselves down the cost curve and retain that full exposure to prices.

Joseph George Reagor: Okay. Good to hear. I will turn it over. Thanks. Okay. Yes. Thanks, Joe.

Operator: Your next question comes from Brian MacArthur with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

Brian MacArthur: Good morning and thank you for taking my questions. So mine go back to what Wayne was at; I had the same questions. Just on the tax pools, you made a comment that, you know, they are slightly different. I thought there were fairly substantial NOLs. Do they last a number of years? Or are there something that, you know, obviously we got pretty good profitability now, that we are going to use them up in two or three years, or can I continue to think that on the U.S. operations, you know, those will last like three or four years, and you will only pay fairly low taxes? Is that fair?

Or is there something different in the structure of the NOLs based on your comments that it is not going to work that way?

Thomas S. Whelan: Yes. So in the 10-K, you can look to the note. We are down to $530,000,000; year over year it was $630,000,000. So that gives you a sense that we used up about $100,000,000 last year. Yes. And so, again, you know, at these prices, that is probably two years, Brian. And we have blown through them. But again, just the way the limitations work, some of the years you can only shelter 80%, and so that is why we are in a cash tax position in the United States this year. So anyway, I hope that gives you a sense.

Brian MacArthur: Yes. That is quite helpful. And just on the question about Palmarejo, if you find all this new ore that is off ground. I mean, you mentioned we are going to stay up to the 40 or 50 for the next couple of years. Let us say, does that drop? I mean, in the past, you have been down as low as 35. Does that drop pretty substantially, though, as we go out five years? Or are you still just finding so much ore at different areas, you just do not know what your sequencing is going to look like yet?

Thomas S. Whelan: Tom, you want to—yes. Look. I mean, Aoife and Mick are absolutely focused on finding as much off the AOI as possible. At this stage, we do not have it, but we have highlighted all of the opportunities that are emerging, and I feel really excited about, you know, getting less of that production coming from the area that is covered by the Franco stream. But for the near future, expect virtually all of the production to be subject to the stream.

Mitchell J. Krebs: And, Brian, what is great there is, obviously, the Palmarejo reserve and resource increases were quite significant, and in particular, that extension to the mine life, you know, that is just building out more runway for us as we continue to allocate more and more of our exploration dollars off to the east to, over time, develop that next chapter of Palmarejo more and more to the east over time, starting with the Independencia Sur extensional stuff. But then, you know, while we do that, we will, in parallel, work to better define what those further east deposits mean in terms of the future production profile at Palmarejo. So it is a good strategy.

It has taken a long time to kind of put all the pieces in place, but we just need to stick with it and hopefully over time, like Tom said, we will see more and more opportunities open up to the east, and over time we will make that slow transition.

Brian MacArthur: No. I totally agree with that. I guess I was just trying to push a little bit to see when you saw that transition, just when I was looking at it. Those additional years were adding up. But that is okay. We can take that offline. Thank you very much.

Mitchell J. Krebs: No. Thanks, Brian.

Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mitchell J. Krebs for any closing remarks.

Mitchell J. Krebs: Okay. Well, we appreciate everybody’s time today, and we look forward to speaking with you again in the spring to review our first quarter results. Thanks a lot and have a great rest of the day.

Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.

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