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HLHecla Mining

Earnings Release

Hecla Mining's latest earnings press release, filed Aug 4, 2026, scored line by line for tone, guidance and what changed since the prior release.

Guidance mixed150 lines scoredFiled Aug 4, 2026SEC 8-K · Exhibit 99
Release Tone
57
BALANCED
GuidanceGuidance mixedWhat this release does to the company's outlook
Tone change▼ 5.8pointsvs the prior release (May 5, 2026)
Hedging language0.69per 100 words▲ 0.28 vs prior
New this quarter116of 150 linesWording that was not in the prior release

The lines that matter most

Ranked by how material, how strongly worded and how new each sentence is.

  1. 1

    Production and cost guidance: Consolidated silver production is expected to be 15.1-16.1 million ounces revised from 15.1-16.5 million ounces, with lower Keno outlook partly offset by improved outlooks for Greens Creek and Lucky Friday.

    Guidance loweredNew this quarter
  2. 2

    In Nevada, 2026 exploration investment guidance of $16 million is more than three times the 2025 level with expanded programs at Midas and new programs at Hollister and Aurora.

    Guidance raisedNew this quarter
  3. 3

    Total silver cash costs and AISC per ounce (after by-product credits) 2,3 guidance is lowered on better than planned 1H26 results, and the lower end of total capital investment guidance is raised by about 2%.

    Guidance loweredNew this quarter
  4. 4

    Consolidated silver production is expected to be 15.1-16.1 million ounces, a lower upper end compared to prior guidance.

    Guidance loweredNew this quarterNegative tone
  5. 5

    Greens Creek's silver production is expected to be 8.0-8.3 million ounces, raised up from the prior guidance of 7.5-8.1 million ounces.

    Guidance raisedNew this quarter
  6. 6

    Lucky Friday's silver production is expected to be 4.9-5.2 million ounces, tightened up from the prior 4.7-5.2 million ounces.

    Guidance loweredNew this quarter
  7. 7

    Keno Hill's silver production is expected to be 2.2-2.6 million ounces, lowered from the prior 2.9-3.2 million ounces.

    Guidance loweredNew this quarterNegative tone
  8. 8

    Total silver cash cost and AISC guidance per silver ounce (after by-product credits) is improved to ($4.00)-($3.75)/oz and $12.50-$13.50/oz respectively.

    Guidance loweredNew this quarter

Release by release

Tone and guidance for the last 2 earnings releases.

  1. Aug 4, 2026Guidance mixed57.1-5.8
  2. May 5, 2026Guidance reaffirmed62.8

Bar length: tone on a 50–70 scale.

The release, annotated

1Highlight rankPositive toneNeutralNegative toneDimmed text: low materiality
Hecla Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
Cash Flow from Continuing Operations up 61% Year-Over-Year to $175 million; Free Cash Flow 1 More Than Doubles Year-Over-Year to $136 million; Strongest balance sheet in Company's history; Lucky Friday sets new production record
SECOND QUARTER 2026 HIGHLIGHTS
Financial Performance:
Revenue: $334 million, an expected pullback from a record prior quarter, primarily reflecting lower realized silver and gold prices, in line with the trend of lower market prices during the quarter.
Consolidated silver and gold production was higher than the prior quarter; the softer sales volumes reflect the timing of shipments, mainly at Greens Creek.
Profitability: Income from continuing operations of $118 million or $0.18 per share - down from $165 million or $0.25 per share in the prior quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA: $199 million from continuing operations, a 25% decrease over the prior quarter but more than double the $93 million recorded in the second quarter of 2025 (both periods on a continuing operations basis, excluding Casa Berardi).
Continued strong cash flow generation: $175 million cash generated from continuing operations, and second best quarterly free cash flow from continuing operations of $136 million, with all producing assets contributing and Lucky Friday setting new quarterly records.
Building balance sheet strength: Cash position of $483 million underscores continued balance sheet strengthening and strategic flexibility.
With the redemption of the remaining $263 million in 7.25% Senior Notes ("Senior Notes"), the Company ends the second quarter debt free (excluding financial leases) and backed by a fully undrawn $225 million revolving credit facility, with $3.5 million of availability utilized for outstanding letters of credit, plus a $75 million undrawn accordion option, representing the strongest balance sheet position in the Company's history.
Operational Performance:
Operations:
Silver production from continuing operations of 4.2 million ounces, up 8% from the prior quarter.
Consolidated costs applicable to sales from continuing operations of $117 million, down 6% from the prior quarter.
Silver cash cost of ($8.10) per ounce and AISC of $6.07 per ounce (both after by-product credits and excluding Keno Hill, which has not yet achieved commercial production).
Safety: Consolidated TRIFR of 1.57, down from 2.07 in the prior quarter.
1Production and cost guidance: Consolidated silver production is expected to be 15.1-16.1 million ounces revised from 15.1-16.5 million ounces, with lower Keno outlook partly offset by improved outlooks for Greens Creek and Lucky Friday.Guidance lowered
Consolidated silver cash cost and AISC guidance lowered on outperformance in 1H26 compared to plan.Guidance lowered
2,3 See Guidance section for more details.
Individual Mine Performance:
Greens Creek: Produced nearly 2.1 million ounces of silver and over 14 thousand ounces of gold.
Costs applicable to sales of $50 million, with silver cash cost of ($17.11) per ounce and AISC of ($10.71) per ounce (both after by-product credits).
Lucky Friday: Record silver production of 1.5 million ounces.
Costs applicable to sales of $35 million, with silver cash cost of $3.95 per ounce and AISC of $17.08 per ounce (both after by-product credits).
2,3,5 The surface cooling project is 88% complete and remains on track for completion in September.
Keno Hill: Produced 0.6 million ounces of silver in the second quarter after working through a lower-grade zone.
Subsequent to quarter end, the Company received authorization for construction of the Phase 2 West extension of its dry stack tailings facility.
Growth pipeline: Preliminary work on the Greens Creek pyrite concentrate circuit points to potential for incremental annual production of approximately 1.0 to 1.2 million ounces of silver and 10,000 to 15,000 ounces of gold once fully ramped up.
Separately, the Greens Creek dry-stack tailings facility currently holds an estimated 51 million ounces of silver and 600 thousand ounces of gold.
2In Nevada, 2026 exploration investment guidance of $16 million is more than three times the 2025 level with expanded programs at Midas and new programs at Hollister and Aurora.Guidance raised
See "Project Pipeline Update" section below for further details.
Exploration: As previously announced on July 29, 2026, drilling extended the high-grade Bermingham Deep trend at Keno Hill toward the historic Hector-Calumet Mine - a past-producer of approximately 96 million ounces of silver - now traceable over 800 feet of strike length.
Separately, new high-grade vein discoveries were made at Midas in Nevada.
Rob Krcmarov, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our second quarter results reflect the strength of the platform we have built.
We ended the quarter with the strongest balance sheet in the Company's history, and Lucky Friday delivered record quarterly silver production, underscoring the quality of our silver portfolio.
I'm also encouraged by our strong safety performance across the operations, which remains a foundation of everything we do.
At the same time, our organic project pipeline continues to advance, demonstrating real potential for meaningful value creation and further solidify Hecla's position as North America's premier silver producer."
FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW
SECOND QUARTER RESULTS
Sales of $334 million decreased 19% compared to the prior quarter, primarily reflecting lower realized precious metals prices, due largely to timing of sales, a declining price environment and lower precious metals sales volumes.
Payable silver sold was roughly 5% lower compared to the prior quarter, primarily driven by the timing of sales at Greens Creek.
Income from continuing operations was $118 million, or $0.18 per share compared to the record $165 million in the prior quarter (in each case from continuing operations, excluding Casa Berardi).
The decline was primarily related to:
A 19% decrease in revenue from continuing operations for the items noted above
A $7 million increase in exploration and pre-development expense, primarily related to the seasonal increase in exploration activities across the portfolio
A $3 million increase in depreciation expense due primarily to higher production and sales volumes at Lucky Friday and Keno Hill
Partly offset by:
A $32 million decrease in tax expense primarily related to lower profitability compared to the prior quarter and tax planning strategies allowing for consolidation of tax groups
A $7 million decrease in costs applicable to sales primarily related to lower consolidated volumes of silver sold 5
A $3 million decrease in interest expense primarily related to the repayment of the Senior Notes
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $199 million, down 25% from the prior quarter (in each period, excluding Casa Berardi), primarily reflecting the decrease in revenue, partly offset by lower costs applicable to sales.
Cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2026, of $483 million, with no draws on the revolving credit facility, with $3.5 million of availability utilized for outstanding letters of credit.
Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $175 million, down 4% from the prior quarter, primarily due to lower realized metal prices for silver, gold and lead, and lower volumes of payable silver and gold ounces sold, partly offset by a higher realized zinc price (in each period, excluding Casa Berardi).
Cash provided by operating activities was positively impacted by a $63 million decrease in accounts receivable, driven by timing of concentrate shipments, the collection of receivables and lower metal prices reducing the value of concentrate receivables as of June 30, 2026.
Capital investment in continuing operations was $39 million, nearly unchanged from the prior quarter (in each period, excluding Casa Berardi).
Capital investment is expected to increase in the third quarter and remain elevated in the fourth quarter, as projects across the portfolio advance through the warmer-weather construction season and into the fall.
The Company continues to invest in 2026 corporate initiatives to strengthen planning discipline and operational efficiency.
Free cash flow from continuing operations was $136 million, compared to a record $144 million in the prior quarter, with the 5% decrease primarily due to lower cash flow from operations (in each period, excluding Casa Berardi).
1 Greens Creek and Lucky Friday set new quarterly site-level free cash flow records of $130 million and $88 million, respectively.
(a) Precious metals concentrates include intersegment sales to Greens Creek.
Consolidated silver production from continuing operations was 4.2 million ounces, up 8% from the prior quarter.
The increase was driven by Lucky Friday's new quarterly record of 1.5 million ounces, benefiting from a 31% higher milled grade, a level consistent with plan, but not expected to be sustained, partly offset by 6% lower tons milled.
Production also increased 28% at Keno Hill, as milling rates rose 38%, partly offset by 7% lower milled grade.
Gold production from Greens Creek was 14 thousand ounces, up 10% from the prior quarter due to 4% higher mill throughput and a higher grade milled.
Silver payable ounces sold of 3.4 million ounces, down 5% from the prior quarter, primarily due to lower payable ounces sold at Greens Creek and Keno Hill, partly offset by higher sales at Lucky Friday.
Gold payable ounces sold of 10 thousand ounces, down 12% from the prior quarter due to the timing of sales at Greens Creek.
Concentrate volumes produced and sold were higher at Lucky Friday and Keno Hill compared to the prior quarter.
At Greens Creek, concentrate production was higher for one of the three concentrates produced, while concentrate sales were lower across all three, reflecting a lag between production and shipment: zinc and precious metals concentrate sales roughly matched production, while silver concentrate shipments lagged production, resulting in a build-up of silver concentrate inventory at quarter end that was shipped in early August.
Concentrates sales at Lucky Friday were broadly in line with production in the second quarter.
At Keno Hill, silver and zinc concentrate sales were below production volumes due to timing of sales, despite overall concentrate production and sales being higher than the prior quarter.
Consolidated silver costs applicable to sales (excludes depreciation) from continuing operations improved 6% over the prior quarter to $117 million, primarily due to lower volumes of silver sold.
Silver cash costs and AISC per silver ounce from continuing operations, each after by-product credits and excluding Keno Hill , which has not yet achieved commercial production, were ($8.10) and $6.07, respectively, lower than the prior quarter, primarily due to higher ounces produced and $6 million higher by-product credits, mostly associated with higher volumes, partly offset by $2 million higher treatment charges.
The decrease in AISC compared to the prior quarter reflects these same cash cost drivers, along with $1 million lower general and administrative expense, offset by $11 million higher sustaining capital investment, split roughly evenly between Lucky Friday and Greens Creek.
GUIDANCE
In the tables below the Company provides production, cost, and capital guidance on a consolidated basis and by mine, as well as projected consolidated exploration and pre-development expenditures.
Silver production guidance is increased for Greens Creek, tightened up for Lucky Friday, and reduced for Keno Hill.
There is no change to Greens Creek gold production guidance.Guidance reaffirmed
3Total silver cash costs and AISC per ounce (after by-product credits) 2,3 guidance is lowered on better than planned 1H26 results, and the lower end of total capital investment guidance is raised by about 2%.Guidance lowered
2026 Production Outlook
4Consolidated silver production is expected to be 15.1-16.1 million ounces, a lower upper end compared to prior guidance.Guidance lowered
5Greens Creek's silver production is expected to be 8.0-8.3 million ounces, raised up from the prior guidance of 7.5-8.1 million ounces.Guidance raised
6Lucky Friday's silver production is expected to be 4.9-5.2 million ounces, tightened up from the prior 4.7-5.2 million ounces.Guidance lowered
7Keno Hill's silver production is expected to be 2.2-2.6 million ounces, lowered from the prior 2.9-3.2 million ounces.Guidance lowered
The Company's plan at Keno Hill is to run the operation at a sustained, more modest rate, while permitting and infrastructure build-out is prioritized, as previously disclosed.Guidance reaffirmed
Greens Creek's gold production guidance of 51.0-55.0 koz is reiterated.Guidance reaffirmed
2026 Cost Guidance Revised LowerGuidance lowered
8Total silver cash cost and AISC guidance per silver ounce (after by-product credits) is improved to ($4.00)-($3.75)/oz and $12.50-$13.50/oz respectively.Guidance lowered
2,3 This guidance only incorporates Greens Creek and Lucky Friday, as Keno Hill remains in a state of pre-commercial production.Guidance lowered
At Greens Creek, guidance for costs applicable to sales (excludes depreciation) at $240 million.Guidance lowered
Cash cost per silver ounce (after by-product credits) and AISC per silver ounce (after by-product credits) guidance is lowered to ($12.50)-($12.00) and ($4.25)-($3.75) respectively from ($9.00)-($8.25) and $0.00-$0.50 respectively.Guidance lowered
At Lucky Friday, guidance for costs applicable to sales (excludes depreciation) of $139 million.Guidance lowered
Cash cost guidance is lowered to $9.00-$9.75 from the prior $10.25-$11.00 (after by-product credits), per silver ounce, and the lower end of AISC raised to $24.50-$26.00 from $23.50-$26.00 (after by-product credits), per silver ounce to reflect the higher sustaining capital investment guidance at the mine.Guidance lowered
2026 Capital and ExplorationGuidance lowered
Lower end of total capital (growth and sustaining) investment guidance raised, top end reiterated, now at $208-$223 million from $204-$223 million.Guidance raised
Greens Creek's capital investment is primarily attributable to mine development and the expansion of its tailings facility, which, when completed is expected to provide tailings storage capacity through 2045.
Lucky Friday's capital investment is heavily tied to underground development, a new tailings facility and a surface cooling project, which is expected to be completed by September and to increase the designed cooling capacity at the mine to support its reserve mine-life of fifteen years.
Expected capital investment at Keno Hill comprises mine development, expansion of its tailings facility, and infrastructure projects.
Exploration and pre-development expenditures remain unchanged and are expected to be $55 million, with the focus at Greens Creek and Keno Hill, Nevada and Lucky Friday.Guidance reaffirmed
Metal Prices and FX rate assumptions for 2H26 (1H26 actuals).
Expectations for gold $4,000/oz, silver $55.00/oz, zinc $1.40/lb, lead $0.85/lb and copper $4.00/lb, for byproduct credit calculations.
Numbers are rounded.
Assumed exchange rate for Canadian dollar is unchanged at 1.35 CAD/USD.
Silver Production (Moz)Gold Production (Koz)
Greens Creek8.0 - 8.351.0 - 55.0
Lucky Friday4.9 - 5.2N/A
Keno Hill2.2 - 2.6N/A
2026 Total15.1 - 16.151.0 - 55.0
Costs applicable to sales (5) (millions)Cash cost, after by-product credits, per silver ounce (2)AISC, after by-product credits, per produced silver ounce (3)
Greens Creek240($12.50) - ($12.00)($4.25) - ($3.75)
Lucky Friday140$9.00 - $9.75$24.50 - $26.00
Total Silver380($4.00) - ($3.75)$12.50 - $13.50
PROJECT PIPELINE UPDATE
Hecla remains focused on advancing a pipeline of organic growth opportunities that build on existing infrastructure, established permitting paths, and the Company's deep operational expertise.
The projects outlined below are anticipated to be low-capital-intensity opportunities with the potential to meaningfully expanding precious metal output, cash flows and net asset value over time, while avoiding many of the exploration and development risks inherent in greenfield projects.
Greens Creek Pyrite Concentrate Circuit
Greens Creek is advancing engineering and evaluation of a pyrite concentrate circuit which has the potential to recover additional silver and gold that currently report to tailings.
Preliminary metallurgical and engineering work indicates the project could, at average reserve grades, add approximately 1.0 to 1.2 million ounces of silver and 10,000 to 15,000 ounces of gold in annual production, once fully ramped up.
Preliminary cost estimates are underway.
Early indications point to a potential robust return on capital meeting Company thresholds, while potentially also reducing the rate of tailings deposited into the tailing storage facility, which would be expected to lower future tailings-related capital investment.
This work is at a preliminary economic assessment level of engineering, incorporating some advanced design (equivalent to an AACE Class 4 cost estimate advancing toward Class 3).
Given the projected favorable benefit-to-cost ratio and low technical risk, the project is well suited to an accelerated engineering and execution path subject to receipt of applicable permits, and final investment approval.
The Company currently targets first production between the fourth quarter of 2027 and the first half of 2028, with a ramp-up period of approximately one year required to reach full capacity.
A dedicated internal project manager has been assigned to oversee execution, consistent with Hecla's approach to advancing near-term growth opportunities.
The Greens Creek tailings reprocessing project offers potential organic value creation, though significant groundwork is still needed before that value can be realized.
The project is at a preliminary, conceptual stage of engineering (equivalent to an AACE Class 5 to Class 4 cost estimate) and is progressing through a multi-phase metallurgical study conducted with a third party, with Phase 3 testing scheduled for completion in August 2026.
This next phase of multi-ton metallurgical work is a key milestone that should help shape next steps, with the potential to advance to a pilot plant test in Phase 4.
If the tests yield positive results, it is expected the project would advance through a prefeasibility study before any decision to execute.
Early indications point to a potentially low capital intensity path for Hecla to achieve initial cash flows, though the project remains in the early stages of testing and the potential third party partner securing a suitable processing facility.
As an added benefit, reprocessing all or part of the existing tailings could decrease the space needed for tailings storage and help lower the mine's long-term reclamation liability.
At June 30, 2026, the dry-stack tailings facility at Greens Creek held an estimated 10.6 million tons of material, containing roughly 51 million ounces of silver, nearly 600 thousand ounces of gold, and additional critical minerals, representing a combined estimated in-situ gross metal value of approximately $6.1 billion (based on June 30, 2026 metals prices and before transportation, processing or sales costs, which are expected to be significant).
Midas Restart Project
Hecla continues to evaluate the potential to restart the existing, permitted Midas mill in northern Nevada, a historic high-grade gold and silver operation.
Midas benefits from fully permitted infrastructure, which could help reduce the capital required for restart, and the Company is working to expand the existing high-grade gold and silver resource to the scale needed to support that restart.
Midas represents a potential hub-and-spoke operating model, with ore potentially sourced from multiple regional deposits and fed into the 1,200 tpd mill.
The site also includes an existing permitted tailings facility, offering approximately 15 years of storage capacity at the mill's nameplate capacity
The Company has allocated $16 million of the 2026 exploration budget for the Nevada project portfolio, more than three times the investment made in 2025.
The 2026 drill program at Midas is focused on following up on the success of the 2025 drill program with a heavy focus on the Sinter Offset Zone and the Pogo target.
The nearby Hollister high-grade gold and silver project is within trucking distance of the Midas mill and drilling has recently resumed after a multi-year pause.
With multiple veins and trends still open along strike and at depth, and programs at Hollister and Aurora beginning, the Company expects continued exploration momentum through the second half of 2026 and aims to provide regular exploration updates for the Nevada exploration projects throughout 2026.
EXPLORATION AND PRE-DEVELOPMENT
Investment and Strategy
During the second quarter, the Company invested $11.3 million in exploration and corporate development (and $0.4 million in pre-development) activities, focused on high-impact discovery drilling at Keno Hill in Yukon and Midas in Nevada, and resource expansion programs at the Company's producing assets.
This strategy balances district-scale discovery with near-mine resource definition and reserve extension.
Guidance for 2026 remains at $55 million investment in exploration and pre-development.Guidance reaffirmed
See our exploration update news release from July 29, 2026 for detailed results.
DIVIDENDS
Pursuant to the Company's dividend policy, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.00375 per share of common stock payable on or about September 10, 2026, to stockholders of record on August 26, 2026.
Preferred Stock
The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.875 per share of Series B preferred stock, payable on or about October 1, 2026, to preferred stockholders of record on September 15, 2026.
10 boilerplate lines (safe-harbor disclaimer, contacts, call details) are set aside.

How this is scored

  • Source: the press release Hecla Mining filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99 to Form 8-K (Item 2.02). Financial statements and boilerplate are set aside.
  • Tone: a financial sentiment model scores each sentence 0 to 100; the release score weights sentences by how material they are.
  • Materiality and guidance: a classifier judges whether each sentence is specific information, and what the release does to the outlook.
  • New this quarter: wording that does not appear in the prior release.
  • Hedging: uncertainty words (may, could, approximately, headwinds and similar) per 100 words of narrative.

These scores describe the release's language. They are not a forecast or a recommendation. Read the original filing

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