Jim Cramer - Mad Money Barrick Gold Corp ABX-N COMMENT Jan 25, 2023

Can't recommend gold stocks now, unless it's a very small portion of your portfolio.

It's been disappointing, despite a good CEO. He's looking at Agnico-Eagle in the gold space.

Very disappointed. Gold has made a big run lately, but Barrick hasn't done much. The best thing about it is its 2.5% dividend. That's it.

His go-to gold name because of the CEO. Gold stocks haven't been hitting new highs like gold itself. Last February they reported an earnings beat and inline revenue and production, but shares got hammered over higher production costs. More of their gold comes from North America where labour costs are higher; they used to have more mining in cheaper Latin America. Also, guidance may be too cautious. Shares are finally starting to catch up to the gold price; same goes with many gold stocks.

Though shares have been weak and costs have risen (4-6% for gold and 9-11% copper), he still believes in this. Gold prices are up 13% this year, but ABX is down 9%. Barrick is getting its costs under control as it boosts production this year.