Forbes
With gold and silver prices falling off a cliff in 2013, it’s not surprising that earnings estimates are being cut for the miners. Silver Wheaton, one of the largest streaming metals companies in the world, is no exception. Ten earnings estimates for 2013 have been cut in the last two months, sending the consensus plunging for the year. Shares of Silver Wheaton are soaring more than 4% Monday but don’t get too thrilled about the longer term picture.
Silver Wheaton is not a mining company but streams the precious metals. That means it enters agreements where it has the right to purchase all or part of the gold or silver production from mines around the world. The payment is up front, which means its costs are mainly fixed. It doesn’t actually do the exploration or have to deal with employee issues like union contracts. It looks for politically stable regions.