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Central banks are lying to you about gold(From Behind the Markets)

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Gold, Copper, and Missiles: 3 Big Dividend Raises After a Breakout Year

Written by Leo Miller on February 2, 2026 

In Brief

• Defense and mining stocks surged in 2025, and a select group of market leaders is now translating those gains into meaningful dividend increases.
• The dividend moves offer a timely read on how these companies are balancing shareholder returns with commodity and defense-cycle uncertainty heading into 2026.
• Each name highlighted brings a different mix of yield, payout structure, and catalysts that could shape total returns beyond last year’s run.

For the defense and mining industries, 2025 was a standout year. The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (BATS: ITA) tracks the performance of a basket of over 40 U.S. aerospace and defense companies. The fund delivered a total return of nearly 49% in 2025, its best calendar year performance in over a decade. The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (NYSEARCA: XME) tracks the performance of a basket of over 30 U.S. mining and metals stocks. Its performance was even more impressive, delivering a total return of around 83%, its best since 2016.

Now, several giants in these two industries are rewarding investors after landmark gains, meaningfully boosting their dividends. Let’s dive into the dividend details around these companies and take a glimpse at their outlooks for 2026.

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Franco Nevada Boosts Dividend Over 15%

First up is Franco-Nevada (NYSE: FNV), a company deeply involved in the mining of gold and other precious metals. The Canadian stock delivered a whopping 78% total return in 2025, buoyed by the extensive rise in gold and silver prices. On Jan. 26, Franco declared a quarterly dividend of 44 cents, marking a significant 16% increase over its previous payout. The company expects to pay its next dividend on Mar. 26 to shareholders of record on Mar. 12.

Looking ahead, the stock’s indicated dividend yield is approximately 0.70%. While not particularly high, investors should recognize that large gains in a company’s share price, which Franco saw last year, put downward pressure on dividend yields for new investors.

Going forward, Franco’s shares should continue to be highly correlated with movements in gold and silver prices. On Jan. 30, the stock tanked around 10.5%, as gold and silver dropped around 10% and 29%, respectively. This shows that trepidation is prudent when it comes to stocks exposed to these metals. Still, analysts at Deutsche Bank and Citi released bullish price targets on these metals days earlier.

Southern Copper Caps Off Strong 2025 With Dividend Increase

Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO) is another miner that soared in 2025, delivering a total return of 68%. The company is one of the world’s largest producers of copper, with its operations primarily in Mexico and South America.

On Jan. 22, Southern Copper declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1. This is a solid 11% increase over its previous dividend. Investors will also receive a stock dividend of 0.0085 shares of common stock per share. The company will give each owner this many shares for every share they already hold. If a shareholder’s position is such that a stock dividend would result in receiving fractional shares, the company will pay cash instead, based on a share price of $179.93. Investors should also note that Southern Copper’s dividend often fluctuates on a quarterly basis, depending on business performance.

These dividends are payable on Feb. 27 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 10. The company’s unique dividend structure makes it hard to assign a forward-looking yield. However, based on its cash dividend alone, and assuming a stable payment, the stock’s yield would be a solid 2.1%.

Copper prices will be a key determinant of SCCO’s performance. Goldman Sachs is moderately bearish on copper in the near term but bullish over the next decade.

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L3Harris Raises Dividend, Gains DoW Investment in Missile Business

Last up is defense stock L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX). L3Harris is one of the largest defense contractors in the United States, and delivered an impressive 42% total return in 2025. On Jan. 23, L3Harris declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25, a moderate but meaningful 4% increase. The company expects to pay this new dividend on Mar. 6 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Mar. 20. The stock’s indicated dividend yield is now approximately 1.5%. This is solidly above the approximately 1.1% yield offered by the S&P 500 Index.

L3Harris recently announced its intention to spin off its missile solutions business into its own publicly traded stock. The U.S. Department of War will invest $1 billion in the new entity, a clear sign of government support for increasing its solid rocket motor capacity. L3Harris will maintain a controlling stake in the missile solutions business, which could be a meaningful growth driver. The MarketBeat consensus price target still implies moderate downside in L3Harris shares. However, multiple analysts issued price targets above the stock’s current level after the Jan. 13 announcement.

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