# Hecla Mining (HL.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/HL

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:29:03.193Z. Financial observations: FY1996–FY2025.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $15.56 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

Estimated value: low $1.87 per share, central $2.30 per share, high $2.57 per share. Buy at or below the central value $2.30 per share. Valuation as of 2026-10-16T07:29:03.193Z; scenarios are not confidence intervals.

Expected annual return: 3.8% at the stated quote. About 3.8% a year at today's price (required return 10.0%). required return 10.0% a year (10% floor; US 10-year bond 5.1% + 4 points).

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 3 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 3

- Years with a net loss: 6

- Operating margin variation: 1.73×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.18×

- FY2017: 0.11×

- FY2018: -0.07×

- FY2019: -0.07×

- FY2020: 0.10×

- FY2021: 0.10×

- FY2022: -0.02×

- FY2023: -0.06×

- FY2024: 0.11×

- FY2025: 0.38×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: 2.6%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -1.4%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 1.0 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 22.3%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 21.3%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 19.4%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 0.8%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 4.7%

- FY2017: 2.9%

- FY2018: -1.4%

- FY2019: -1.7%

- FY2020: 2.5%

- FY2021: 4.0%

- FY2022: -0.4%

- FY2023: -1.4%

- FY2024: 2.7%

- FY2025: 14.0%

### economics: pass

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 1.01×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $275M

- Net income, five-year total: $271M

- Return on incremental invested capital: 270.0%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 0.6 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 3.7 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 9.1%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: 2.81×

- FY2022: 1.11×

- FY2023: 1.66×

- FY2024: 1.00×

- FY2025: 1.00×

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 2.9% vs 2.7%

- Per-share earnings: -0.06 to 0.06 (three-year endpoint medians)

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 5.8%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 4.5%

- Market cap gain: $11B

- Cumulative retained earnings: -$15M

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 5.8%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 4.5%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value change: $0.12

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: -$0.06

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $0.06

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): -0.13

- Average buyback yield: 0.1%

- Buyback history: 10 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: No

- Acquisition spending: $0

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $186M

- ROIC, first three-year median: 2.9%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 2.7%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: $0.18

- FY2017: -$0.06

- FY2018: -$0.06

- FY2019: -$0.19

- FY2020: -$0.02

- FY2021: $0.06

- FY2022: -$0.07

- FY2023: -$0.14

- FY2024: $0.06

- FY2025: $0.49

### accounting: pass

- latest-year receivables to sales index (DSRI) exceeds 1.465

- Sloan accruals: -6.8%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 2.50×

- Restructuring years, last five: 2

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 1.9%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 1.75×

- Accounting red flags: 1

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.00×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -6.6%

- FY2017: -5.9%

- FY2018: -4.5%

- FY2019: -8.2%

- FY2020: -7.0%

- FY2021: -6.8%

- FY2022: -4.3%

- FY2023: -5.3%

- FY2024: -6.1%

- FY2025: -6.8%

## Holders

- [Arnold Van Den Berg](https://gigainvestors.com/VAN): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 38% since Feb 2026 · "Hecla (HL) Drops 5.5% on Weak 2026 Production Outlook" (finance.yahoo.com, Jan 2026) · sales +53%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:58:52.989Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

Price needs cash profits to grow 34.7% a year for ten years

- 2025-11-06: Hecla outlines tightened production guidance and 83% leverage reduction as cash flow momentum builds ([seekingalpha.com](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4517586-hecla-outlines-tightened-production-guidance-and-83-percent-leverage-reduction-as-cash-flow?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news))

- 2025-12-02: Hecla cleared to begin exploration at Nevada's Aurora mining district ([seekingalpha.com](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4527785-hecla-cleared-to-begin-exploration-at-nevadas-aurora-mining-district?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news))

- 2026-01-29: Hecla Mining Refocuses On Silver As Casa Berardi Sale Reshapes Outlook ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hecla-mining-refocuses-silver-casa-180842851.html))

- 2026-02-18: Hecla Mining (HL) Is Down 7.6% After Record 2025 Results and New Silver-Focused Strategy ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hecla-mining-hl-down-7-031140854.html))

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +53%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719413/000119312526055059/hl-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-17.

- FY2016: $646M 

- FY2017: $578M 

- FY2018: $567M 

- FY2019: $673M 

- FY2020: $692M 

- FY2021: $807M 

- FY2022: $719M 

- FY2023: $720M 

- FY2024: $930M 

- FY2025: $1.4B 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 43.7%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719413/000119312526055059/hl-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-17.

- FY2016: 29.6% 

- FY2017: 27.2% 

- FY2018: 13.9% 

- FY2019: 5.0% 

- FY2020: 23.3% 

- FY2021: 27.0% 

- FY2022: 16.2% 

- FY2023: 15.7% 

- FY2024: 21.3% 

- FY2025: 43.7% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in other precious metals & mining; annual sales are USD 1.4 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719413/000119312526055059/hl-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-17); FY2025: revenue 1423019000; grossProfit 622203000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); HL.US: Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metals in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, China, and internationally. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and unrefined doré containing silver and gold. The company was incorporated in 1891 and is headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 15.7% to 43.7% during 2023–25; it earns 2.6% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 15.7%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 21.3%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719413/000119312526055059/hl-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-17); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 43.7%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.047215399018453105],[2017,0.02909123172397607],[2018,-0.01399273236271549],[2019,-0.017010211029166198],[2020,0.02498702306946908],[2021,0.039914142965550965],[2022,-0.004091704633327628],[2023,-0.01397973100103187],[2024,0.026948780876966512],[2025,0.14040301303189057]]; median 0.025967901973217796. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Spends 27% of cash earnings on expansion; earns over 100% on new investment.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); FY2016: growth capex 47375000; upkeep 117413000; owner earnings 69547000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.6811940126820711.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); FY2017: growth capex 0; upkeep 98038000; owner earnings 4910000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); FY2020: growth capex 0; upkeep 91016000; owner earnings 54533000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 109048000; owner earnings 98698000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); FY2024: growth capex 24021000; upkeep 190471000; owner earnings 35802000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.6709401709401709.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719413/000119312526055059/hl-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-17); FY2025: growth capex 86819000; upkeep 165570000; owner earnings 321712000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.26986559407171634.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); Incremental return on capital 2.7004705146967574, from the economics test's unchanged annual inputs.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); Dividend observations: [[2016,4419000],[2017,4528000],[2018,4945000],[2019,5466000],[2020,9152000],[2021,20672000],[2022,12932000],[2023,15713000],[2024,25331000],[2025,10375000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719413/000119312526055059/hl-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-17); FY2025: cash repurchases 885000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 0.6% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); HL.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 0.5539999999999999 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price assumes cash profits grow 34.7% yearly over ten years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-17); Ten-year compound average after fade. Initial solved rate 0.49846144961026606. Price 15.56; FX 1; discount 0.1; same standard ten-year fade to terminal 0.03. FY2015 owner earnings/share -0.2990367799248036 → FY2025 0.49058813482817093. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $5.99 per share

- 2016-11: $6.08 per share

- 2016-12: $5.24 per share

- 2017-01: $6.44 per share

- 2017-02: $5.58 per share

- 2017-03: $5.29 per share

- 2017-04: $5.45 per share

- 2017-05: $5.74 per share

- 2017-06: $5.10 per share

- 2017-07: $5.41 per share

- 2017-08: $5.28 per share

- 2017-09: $5.02 per share

- 2017-10: $4.72 per share

- 2017-11: $3.74 per share

- 2017-12: $3.97 per share

- 2018-01: $3.84 per share

- 2018-02: $3.66 per share

- 2018-03: $3.67 per share

- 2018-04: $3.83 per share

- 2018-05: $3.76 per share

- 2018-06: $3.48 per share

- 2018-07: $3.20 per share

- 2018-08: $2.84 per share

- 2018-09: $2.79 per share

- 2018-10: $2.40 per share

- 2018-11: $2.38 per share

- 2018-12: $2.36 per share

- 2019-01: $2.70 per share

- 2019-02: $2.40 per share

- 2019-03: $2.30 per share

- 2019-04: $2.10 per share

- 2019-05: $1.31 per share

- 2019-06: $1.80 per share

- 2019-07: $1.85 per share

- 2019-08: $1.78 per share

- 2019-09: $1.76 per share

- 2019-10: $2.30 per share

- 2019-11: $2.47 per share

- 2019-12: $3.39 per share

- 2020-01: $3.03 per share

- 2020-02: $2.64 per share

- 2020-03: $1.82 per share

- 2020-04: $2.63 per share

- 2020-05: $3.32 per share

- 2020-06: $3.27 per share

- 2020-07: $5.52 per share

- 2020-08: $6.02 per share

- 2020-09: $5.08 per share

- 2020-10: $4.58 per share

- 2020-11: $4.78 per share

- 2020-12: $6.48 per share

- 2021-01: $5.69 per share

- 2021-02: $6.53 per share

- 2021-03: $5.69 per share

- 2021-04: $5.91 per share

- 2021-05: $9.00 per share

- 2021-06: $7.44 per share

- 2021-07: $6.69 per share

- 2021-08: $6.15 per share

- 2021-09: $5.50 per share

- 2021-10: $5.78 per share

- 2021-11: $5.54 per share

- 2021-12: $5.22 per share

- 2022-01: $4.96 per share

- 2022-02: $5.76 per share

- 2022-03: $6.57 per share

- 2022-04: $5.21 per share

- 2022-05: $4.72 per share

- 2022-06: $3.92 per share

- 2022-07: $4.53 per share

- 2022-08: $3.94 per share

- 2022-09: $3.94 per share

- 2022-10: $4.57 per share

- 2022-11: $5.45 per share

- 2022-12: $5.56 per share

- 2023-01: $6.17 per share

- 2023-02: $5.15 per share

- 2023-03: $6.33 per share

- 2023-04: $6.05 per share

- 2023-05: $5.33 per share

- 2023-06: $5.15 per share

- 2023-07: $5.76 per share

- 2023-08: $4.39 per share

- 2023-09: $3.91 per share

- 2023-10: $4.07 per share

- 2023-11: $4.98 per share

- 2023-12: $4.81 per share

- 2024-01: $3.81 per share

- 2024-02: $3.54 per share

- 2024-03: $4.81 per share

- 2024-04: $4.73 per share

- 2024-05: $5.89 per share

- 2024-06: $4.85 per share

- 2024-07: $5.78 per share

- 2024-08: $5.93 per share

- 2024-09: $6.67 per share

- 2024-10: $6.49 per share

- 2024-11: $5.52 per share

- 2024-12: $4.91 per share

- 2025-01: $5.68 per share

- 2025-02: $5.13 per share

- 2025-03: $5.56 per share

- 2025-04: $5.72 per share

- 2025-05: $5.14 per share

- 2025-06: $5.99 per share

- 2025-07: $5.74 per share

- 2025-08: $8.51 per share

- 2025-09: $12.10 per share

- 2025-10: $12.87 per share

- 2025-11: $16.82 per share

- 2025-12: $19.19 per share

- 2026-01: $22.52 per share

- 2026-02: $24.91 per share

- 2026-03: $18.63 per share

- 2026-04: $18.02 per share

- 2026-05: $17.77 per share

- 2026-06: $15.43 per share

- 2026-07: $14.12 per share

- 2026-08: $19.87 per share

- 2026-09: $17.03 per share

- 2026-10: $15.56 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2017: low $0.66 per share, central $0.68 per share, high $0.70 per share

- FY2018: low $0.16 per share, central $0.18 per share, high $0.20 per share

- FY2020: low $0.34 per share, central $0.36 per share, high $0.38 per share

- FY2021: low $0.50 per share, central $0.51 per share, high $0.54 per share

- FY2024: low $0.64 per share, central $0.73 per share, high $0.84 per share

- FY2025: low $1.50 per share, central $1.89 per share, high $2.14 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719413/000119312526055059/hl-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-17.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.