Behind IAMGOLD’s 1Q17 Results

IAMGOLD (IAG) released its results after the market closed on May 9, 2017. The company held a conference call the next day to discuss its results.

IAG’s 1Q17 adjusted EPS (earnings per share) of $0.01 beat the market’s expectation of -$0.01. Its revenue was almost in line with market expectations at $260.5 million, and its higher-than-expected production and its better-managed costs led to this earnings beat.

IAMGOLD’s stock rose ~10% following its 1Q17 results—an outperformance of its major peers. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) rose 2% previous close, while the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) was flat over the previous day’s close. IAG’s strong results beat and its management’s optimistic commentary led to this robust performance.

As we’ll see later in the series, there were two analyst upgrades for the stock, which also added to the positive sentiment.

IAMGOLD’s stock price has risen 8.8% YTD (year-to-date) as of May 12, 2017. Eldorado Gold (EGO), New Gold (NGD), Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM), and Yamana Gold (AUY) have risen 12.4%, 14.5%, -14.9, and -3.9%, respectively.

In this series, we’ll discuss how IAMGOLD’s future prospects look based on its recent 1Q17 earnings and its management’s comments. We’ll also look at the company’s production and cost performances. We’ll do this in an effort to interpret how the company’s management is trying to position itself within the context of the current volatile gold price environment.

In the next part of this series, we’ll examine more highlights from IAMGOLD’s 1Q17 results.