The largest players in the global commodities market have published their annual reports for 2025, revealing deep contrasts in the health of individual sectors. While record gold prices have driven AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields' profits to historic levels, the giant Anglo American is grappling with a massive net loss. The cause is a drastic devaluation of the De Beers diamond business, forced by declining demand for luxury stones, casting a shadow over the group's restructuring process.

Record Results for Gold Miners

The AngloGold Ashanti conglomerate recorded a 160% profit increase, reaching $2.6 billion thanks to record metal prices and higher production.

Crisis in the Diamond Industry

Anglo American wrote down $2.3 billion from the value of its stake in De Beers, leading to an annual net loss of $3.7 billion.

Stabilization at Rio Tinto

Despite a 14% drop in net profit, the giant maintained its dividend at 402 cents, protecting margins thanks to its copper sector.

Zurich Insurance Expansion

The insurer's record profits support the offer to acquire Beazley for £8 billion, which is intended to create a leader in specialist insurance.

The end of the earnings season among London and South African mining groups has exposed a strong market divergence. The company AngloGold Ashanti announced a spectacular 160% increase in net profit, reaching $2.6 billion. This result allowed for the payment of a record dividend of $1.8 billion. A similar trend was noted by Gold Fields, whose profits doubled thanks to the bull market in precious metals. Meanwhile, Sibanye Stillwater, after a difficult period, has resumed dividend payments, signaling an improvement in sentiment in the platinum group metals sector. A completely different situation prevails at Anglo American, which reported a loss of $3.7 billion. The main burden turned out to be another, the third in three years, write-down updating the value of the De Beers brand by $2.3 billion. Weak diamond demand complicates management's plans to divest this unit as part of a broad restructuring aimed at focusing on copper and fertilizers. At the same time, the Rio Tinto group recorded a 14% drop in net profit to $9.97 billion, resulting from higher operating costs and a slowdown in China's real estate sector. The mining sector has been undergoing cyclical fluctuations for over a decade, determined by China's economic growth rate, which consumes over half of global iron ore and copper production.Greater optimism prevails in the financial and energy sectors. Zurich Insurance achieved record operating profits, supporting an ambitious plan to acquire the insurer Beazley for £8 billion. Spanish Repsol, on the other hand, focused on maximizing returns for shareholders, planning to allocate €1.9 billion for dividends and share buybacks. The company has also introduced a new reporting model intended to better reflect its transition towards low emissions. 2.3 mld USD — another write-down of the diamond giant De Beers' value Net Profits and Losses of Giants for 2025: Rio Tinto: 9.97, AngloGold Ashanti: 2.6, Sibanye Stillwater: -0.288, Anglo American: -3.7 Market Situation: Gold vs Diamonds: Price Dynamics: Bull market and record gold prices → Declining demand and diamond prices; Impact on Results: AngloGold profit +160% → Anglo American loss $3.7bn

Mentioned People

  • Mario Greco — CEO of Zurich Insurance, overseeing record results and the plan to acquire Beazley.