Diversify Across Commodity Stocks: Wheaton Precious Metals, Globex Mining, Rio Tinto

Wheaton Precious Metals: The Streaming Giant

More than 20 years ago, the Vancouver-based mining group Goldcorp faced quite a luxury problem. Its primary gold and copper mines produced large quantities of silver as a byproduct. However, this byproduct played no role on the stock market. The idea arose to spin off the silver into a separate, publicly traded entity to make its value more visible to investors. Goldcorp CEO Ian Telfer and co-founder Peter Barnes devised the streaming model. Using the proceeds from the initial public offering, the company—then known as Silver Wheaton—purchased, for an upfront payment, the right to 100% of the future silver production from Goldcorp's Luismin mines in Mexico. It was agreed that only a fixed price of approximately USD 3.90 per ounce would be paid for every ounce of silver delivered. As silver prices subsequently rose sharply, the company proved that the concept worked. In 2009, an even larger deal with Goldcorp followed, and the company opened up to third-party corporations such as Barrick.

The model has the advantage of no technical mining risk, no operations to manage, and the partner bearing any potential cost increases. This has proven successful to this day. In the first quarter of 2026, what is now Wheaton Precious Metals posted the best quarter in its history. Revenue rose by 91.6% to USD 901.5 million, and net income grew by 129.2% to USD 582 million. Today, gold dominates the revenue split at 51%, ahead of silver (47%) as well as palladium and cobalt. Although slightly less gold was sold, the price increase more than offset this. The cash position stood at a substantial USD 2.2 billion at the end of March.

And so, on April 1, Wheaton Precious Metals announced the largest deal in its history. A total of USD 4.3 billion was invested in a silver streaming transaction with BHP. This will massively increase production starting as early as the second quarter. Investors can use the stock to invest in the commodities market over the long term without holding individual risks. In addition, Wheaton Precious Metals pursues a very dividend-friendly policy. It typically pays out 20-30% of average operating cash flow over the previous 4 quarters. For the most recent quarter, Wheaton raised the dividend by 18% to USD 0.195 per share. However, this success has made the stock quite expensive.

Globex Mining: Royalties and In-House Projects

Investors can also achieve broad diversification with Globex Mining shares. The Canadian company generally follows a business model similar to Wheaton's but has a broader portfolio. They operate in the market as a so-called "project generator." The company acquires low-cost resource projects and then conducts the initial exploration work itself. Properties are mapped, samples are collected, and geophysical analyses are conducted. Once it is determined that exploration using expensive drilling equipment is worthwhile, partners are sought to bear this specific exploration risk. In this way, Globex Mining avoids the expensive and riskier part of the business. In return, however, the company shares in the success of this work. Typically, Globex Mining receives shares, cash, or a royalty interest from its partners. So if the project eventually goes into production, the company will receive a share of the mine's revenue.

270 Projects in North America

Over the years, the management team led by CEO and founder Jack Stoch has built a portfolio of 270 projects. The company goes far beyond gold and silver, also focusing on platinum, copper, zinc, and rare earths. The geographic focus is on the politically stable jurisdictions of Canada and the US. Among the royalty partners are even industry heavyweights such as Agnico Eagle and Eldorado Gold. The concept works. Globex Mining is now debt-free and has a cash balance of approximately CAD 40 million.

With these available funds, Globex is actively advancing three of its own gold projects in Québec. Thus, the solid, cash-rich project and royalty business is complemented by exploration activities that offer greater upside potential. Currently, the Cadillac-Wood property is likely the most exciting. A 4,000 m drilling program is scheduled here to explore the historical deposits on the property. In addition to news of new partnership deals, successful drilling results are likely to be the strongest driver for the stock.

Opportunity Amid a Pullback

Following a spectacular doubling of Globex's share price between September 2025 and the end of February 2026, there has now been a pullback of about a quarter. Investors can view this as a discounted entry opportunity. After all, the market capitalization is only CAD 120 million and is one-third backed by cash. We also like the tight capital structure. Globex has about 58.1 million shares outstanding, and management holds 14%.

Rio Tinto: The Big Cyclical Player

Due to massive price increases across all metals, many market observers are now talking about a new supercycle in the commodities market. This benefits not only financiers like Wheaton Precious Metals or broadly diversified royalty and project generator companies like Globex Mining, but also the mining giants, the so-called Majors. Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest commodities companies. This is all about economies of scale, cost leadership, and vertical integration. The company handles exploration, the operation of large mines, and onward transport via its own railways and cargo ports. The focus is always on very large deposits that, in the best-case scenario, can be mined for several decades.

The Pilbara region in Western Australia is the heart of the company. Here, Rio Tinto owns railway networks (often fully automated) and deep-sea ports, enabling it to optimize its own supply chain. The focus is on iron ore, where it is considered the world's lowest-cost producer.

In addition, there is aluminum, with its own bauxite mines, alumina refineries, and aluminum smelters. In recent years, the British-Australian company has also ventured into the copper and battery metals sectors. Here, trends such as electrification and AI data centers are seen as offering enormous long-term potential.

In the first quarter, Rio Tinto traditionally reported only pure production and sales data. Detailed financial figures are provided in the half-year report. According to these figures, total production (measured in copper equivalents) increased by a solid 9% year-over-year. The main driver was the copper business, where the ramp-up of underground production at the giant Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia was successful. In addition, an efficiency program worth AUD 650 million per year was fully implemented. Management has confirmed all production, sales, and cost targets for 2026.

Rio Tinto's stock has been on an upward trend since last year's double bottom and has doubled at its peak. Even the war in the Persian Gulf could only briefly interrupt the trend. With Rio Tinto, investors are betting not only on rising demand for commodities but also on dividends. Traditionally, the London-based company pays out 60% of its adjusted profit. However, it is important to note that Rio Tinto is a highly cyclical stock.

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With Wheaton Precious Metals shares, investors gain broad exposure to gold and silver assets without bearing traditional mining risks. Globex Mining is smaller, more diversified, and has greater upside potential due to its own projects. Rio Tinto allows investors to capitalize on the commodities supercycle. However, due to its focus on iron ore, aluminum, and copper, the stock is considered highly cyclical.