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Investing.com -- Moody’s Ratings has upgraded Newmont Corporation’s backed senior unsecured ratings to A3 from Baa1, while changing the outlook to stable from positive.
The upgrade reflects significant improvements in Newmont’s credit profile, including strong credit metrics, excellent liquidity, and commitment to conservative financial policies, according to Botir Sharipov, Moody’s Senior Credit Officer and lead analyst for Newmont.
Newmont has substantially reduced its gross debt and adopted more conservative financial practices, which were key governance considerations driving the rating action. The company has completed its divestiture program of non-core assets, generating $3.1 billion in after-tax cash proceeds in 2025, in addition to $700 million received in 2024 from various asset sales.
These proceeds, combined with operating cash flow, enabled Newmont to repay $483 million of debt in 2024 and $1.4 billion in the first half of 2025. In the third quarter of 2025, the company completed tender offers for up to $2 billion of outstanding notes, bringing total gross debt reduction in 2024-2025 to nearly $3.9 billion.
Newmont’s leverage, measured by Moody’s-adjusted Debt/EBITDA, declined to 0.7x as of June 30, 2025, from 1x at year-end 2024 and 2.6x at year-end 2023. The company’s Moody’s-adjusted EBIT margin increased to approximately 42% from 33% and 14% respectively.
As part of its capital allocation framework, Newmont adopted a new dividend policy in 2024, fixing annual dividends at $1 per share, or about $1.1 billion annually. The company also increased its share repurchase program by $3 billion to $6 billion, with $2.8 billion executed from February 2024 through July 24, 2025.
Assuming a gold price of $2,900 per ounce and a $2 billion debt reduction in the second half of 2025, Moody’s forecasts Newmont will generate $9.6-9.7 billion in adjusted EBITDA in 2025, with leverage declining to 0.6x by year-end.
As of June 30, 2025, Newmont had approximately $6.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $4 billion available under its undrawn revolving credit facility.
The stable outlook reflects Moody’s expectation that Newmont will maintain a stable production profile, focus on cost improvements, and adhere to disciplined capital allocation strategies to maintain credit metrics in line with an A3 rating.
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