Hudbay Delivers Record Third Quarter 2026 Results, Further Improves Cost Guidance and Advances Copper Growth Pipeline

HudBay Minerals Inc. reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $765.9 million, net earnings attributable to owners of $149.5 million, or $0.34 per share, adjusted EBITDA of $413.4 million, and free cash flow of $201.9 million. The company’s trailing twelve-month adjusted EBITDA reached a record $1.5424 billion, while trailing twelve-month free cash flow hit a record $631.0 million.

Consolidated production for the quarter included 30,152 tonnes of copper, a 7% increase quarter-over-quarter; 69,513 ounces of gold, up 36% quarter-over-quarter; 897,587 ounces of silver; 3,691 tonnes of zinc; and 301 tonnes of molybdenum. Consolidated cash cost, net of by-product credits, was $(0.19)/lb copper, compared to $(0.40)/lb in the second quarter of 2026. Sustaining cash cost rose to $1.61/lb from $1.39/lb, and all-in sustaining cash cost increased to $2.25/lb from $1.80/lb.

The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 copper guidance of 110,000–138,000 tonnes and gold guidance of 217,000–272,000 ounces. Consolidated cash cost guidance improved to $(0.55)–$(0.35)/lb from $(0.45)–$(0.25)/lb. Sustaining cash cost guidance was lowered to $1.40–$1.80/lb from the original $1.70–$2.10/lb. Full-year 2026 sustaining capital expenditure is expected to be $35 million lower than prior guidance due to lower capitalized stripping in Peru and British Columbia, plus capital deferrals and efficiencies.

The release confirmed the final investment decision for Copper World with Mitsubishi, targeting first production for the second half of 2029. The project features an initial growth capital requirement of $2.07 billion, a base-case 15-year mine life, and production of 102,000 tonnes/year of copper over the first 10 years, rising to 120,000 tonnes/year in years six to 10. The base case reports an NPV of $1.2 billion and an IRR of 17% at $5.00/lb copper. The extension case projects a 37-year mine life, an NPV of $2.5 billion, and an IRR of 19% at $5.00/lb. HudBay’s capital contributions for Copper World are estimated at approximately $500 million, representing less than 25% of initial growth capital, with contributions not expected until 2028. Mitsubishi holds a 30% joint venture interest, while Wheaton holds a $230 million deposit plus up to $70 million contingent on mill expansion.

At Snow Lake, the reserve mine life was extended to 2043. The deposit now contains 27 million tonnes of reserves with 2.0 million ounces of gold. Life-of-mine gold production is projected to increase 60% to 2.8 million ounces, with a five-year average annual gold production of 185,000 ounces, up 37%.

HudBay upsized its revolving credit facilities from $450 million to $700 million and extended them to November 2030. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.01 per share.

Exploration at Constancia included 245 metres at 0.43% copper and 0.03% molybdenum, including 124 metres at 0.55% copper and 0.05% molybdenum, and a second hole of 302 metres at 0.36% copper and 0.02% molybdenum. The release states assays are uncut and true widths are estimated.

HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM) reported record quarterly revenue and record trailing twelve-month EBITDA and free cash flow, alongside an improvement to its 2026 consolidated cash cost guidance and the first improvement to its sustaining cash cost guidance. The company’s consolidated cash cost midpoint improved from $(0.35)/lb to $(0.45)/lb, a $0.10/lb improvement. The sustaining cash cost midpoint improved from $1.90/lb to $1.60/lb, a $0.30/lb improvement. On the 2026 guidance midpoint of roughly 124,000 tonnes, or about 273 million pounds, those figures represent mechanically about $27 million and $82 million respectively, though the two measures overlap and are not additive.

The company’s Q3 adjusted EBITDA of $413.4 million was below Q1 2026’s $421.9 million, and Q3 net earnings of $149.5 million were below Q1 2026’s $190.4 million. Q3 revenue of $765.9 million was only 1.1% above Q1’s $757.3 million. The “record” language therefore reflects a record for Q3 and a record trailing twelve-month figure, rather than an absolute quarterly earnings record.

Q3 consolidated cash cost of $(0.19)/lb was $0.21/lb worse than Q2’s $(0.40)/lb, sustaining cash cost was $0.22/lb higher, and AISC was $0.45/lb higher. The guidance raise is largely a function of Q1’s exceptional $(1.80)/lb cash cost carrying through the year-to-date calculation.

The Copper World FID was already announced on October 21 and is not new information in this release. The market reaction to that announcement was negative, with the stock closing at $33.71 on October 21 and $30.67 on October 22, a 9.0% decline.

HudBay Minerals Inc. is a TSX- and NYSE-listed diversified miner focused on copper with gold, silver, zinc and molybdenum by-products. Its operating mines are Constancia in Peru, Snow Lake in Manitoba and Copper Mountain in British Columbia.

Constancia is a large open-pit copper mine with a permitted mill capacity of 34 million tonnes per year and mine life to 2040. It is the company’s largest copper producer but has lower gold credits after Pampacancha depletion.

Snow Lake includes the Lalor gold-copper-zinc mine, the New Britannia gold mill, the Stall base-metal concentrator, the 1901 zinc-gold deposit and satellite deposits. Reserve mine life now extends to 2043 and the asset is the main gold growth engine.

Copper Mountain is an open-pit copper-gold mine in BC with mine life to 2045. The New Ingerbelle extension is permitted and under development, with first production targeted for late 2028.

Copper World in Arizona is a 70/30 Hudbay-Mitsubishi joint venture, fully permitted for the base case under state and local permits, with first production targeted for H2 2029. Cactus, also in Arizona, was acquired with Arizona Sonoran in Q2 2026. Mason in Nevada and Llaguen in Peru are longer-dated development assets. Flin Flon is on care and maintenance.

2026 guidance is 110,000–138,000 tonnes copper and 217,000–272,000 ounces gold. The company claims 11 consecutive years of meeting copper guidance and five consecutive years of meeting gold guidance, with 2026 targeted as the 12th and sixth years respectively.