Wheaton Precious Metals

North America – October 11, 2026 -- Investors who want silver exposure without storing coins or bars can buy it through a brokerage account, but the five main stock-market routes react very differently to the same move in the silver price.

A mining share is not the same as owning silver

Physical silver is valued mainly on the metal price, less dealer premiums, storage costs and resale spreads. A mining share is a stake in a business, so its price also depends on production, costs, debt, management, permits and deposit quality. A profitable producer may earn more when silver rises, yet still lag the metal if a mine runs into operational problems.

Peru – October 11, 2026 -- Silver mining stocks can amplify moves in the silver price, but they also carry company-specific risks that a bar or coin does not. The Silver Institute's World Silver Survey 2026 forecasts a 46.3 million ounce market deficit this year, which would be the sixth straight year that demand exceeds supply.

Miners can magnify silver price moves in both directions

A producer earns the gap between what it gets for its metal and what it costs to produce it. If silver rises while costs stay broadly stable, margin per ounce can grow by a larger percentage than the metal itself.

The effect also works in reverse. If silver falls while costs stay high, margins can shrink fast, which is why mining equities can be far more volatile than silver. Grades, labour and energy costs, taxes and by-product credits all change the outcome. Pan American Silver and First Majestic Silver are the source's examples of the producer model.

Global – October 11, 2026 -- Anyone weighing silver royalty and streaming companies against silver miners is really choosing between two different sets of risks, cost exposures and sources of upside.

Royalty and streaming firms fund mines instead of running them

A royalty entitles its owner to a share of revenue, production or, in some cases, profit from a mining property. A common type is the net smelter return royalty (NSR), calculated as a percentage of mineral value after deductions set out in the agreement. A net profits interest is based on defined profits instead.

A stream works differently. The company pays a large upfront sum and gains the right to buy an agreed share of future metal output. It then pays a further, predetermined amount on delivery. Wheaton Precious Metals describes its model this way, and Royal Gold uses both streams and royalties. Franco-Nevada holds a broad portfolio of both and does not develop or operate mines.