AMRK: A Record Quarter as Backwardation Flips to Contango
Gold.com's fully integrated platform turns precious metals volatility into $60M net income and a strategic Tether partnership.
AMRK · Earnings Call · 2026-05-06
The Perfect Storm
The fiscal third quarter of 2026 will go down as a watershed for AMRK (now Gold.com). The numbers are staggering: revenue of $10.3 billion, up 244% year-over-year, gross profit of $176 million, and net income of $60 million—versus a net loss of $8 million a year ago. The catalyst was a once-in-a-generation convergence of market forces. “During the quarter, we experienced an unprecedented surge in activity across both our wholesale sales and our ancillary services as well as our direct-to-consumer segments.” — Gregory Roberts, CEO · 2026-05-06 It wasn't just one channel; the entire platform lit up. The macro backdrop was equally electrifying. Global themes like Middle East conflict and tariff disruptions created the kind of fear-and-uncertainty environment that historically drives precious metals flows. AMRK's CEO Gregory Roberts noted that the war in Iran had disrupted volumes and added a layer of geopolitical risk. Meanwhile, many peers across the tape were grappling with tariff-related noise—some received Net tariff refunds—but AMRK's own tailwind was more structural: the rare reversal from prolonged backwardation back to contango. As Roberts explained in the Q&A, the first half of the quarter still suffered from elevated lease and repo costs, but by March and April the market had normalized, setting up a cleaner quarter ahead.Financial Fireworks
The financials read like a hockey stick. Even the prior quarter's revenue of $3.7B already showed a 36% year-over-year increase, but this quarter's $10.3B blew that away. Gross profit surged 331% to $176 million, though the gross margin of 1.7% remained razor-thin—a reflection of the wholesale-heavy mix and lower premium environment that management has been working to diversify away from. The acquisitions of Monnex and the full consolidation of Sunshine Mint added capacity and scale, while the DTC segment (led by JMB) delivered record profitability. SG&A grew 134% to $78 million, but 75% of that came from newly consolidated subsidiaries, so the underlying cost discipline was intact. The Tether partnership was another milestone. The $150 million equity investment, along with gold leases and storage agreements, began to pay off immediately. “With Tether’s help as well as Monnex, from 12/31/2025 to 03/31/2026 we have gone from $1.1 billion in storage to roughly double that.” — Gregory Roberts, CEO · 2026-05-06 The storage book is now a meaningful recurring revenue stream, and the CEO sees more opportunity in trading and the XAUT stablecoin.The Road Ahead
Management is cautious but optimistic. The environment has normalized from the peak frenzy, but the underlying drivers—central bank buying, geopolitical risk, and retail FOMO—remain intact. The big question is earnings power.This is a critical inflection: the contango normalization, combined with cheaper Tether-linked financing, could unlock a step-change in profitability. Prior calls have consistently flagged backwardation as the pain point. In February, Roberts quantified the damage: “I think we probably swung from about a $6 million gain from contango in December of '24 to a $5 million or $6 million loss in Q2 of calendar '25.” — Gregory Roberts, CEO · 2026-02-05 The swing is now reversing, and with the Tether leases reducing dollar borrowing costs, the carry burden is lifting. The company is also still in the integration phase of its M&A spree, with potential SG&A synergies yet to be fully realized. But the stock has already priced in a lot—up 92% over the last 90 days. The question is whether the market is focusing on the Earnings growth potential or the razor-thin margins. With a $10 billion revenue run rate, even a tiny margin expansion translates into massive earnings power. The Tether relationship and the expanded mint capacity give the company an edge in a world that increasingly wants physical gold exposure. As Roberts put it, “We are now seeing a more normalized environment.” — Gregory Roberts, CEO · 2026-05-06 But if “normal” means contango plus steady demand, the company is positioned to keep surprising. The record quarter was not just a lucky spike—it was the payoff of years of strategic positioning. AMRK has built a vertically integrated platform with mints, DTC brands, and a growing storage business, all leveraged to the most volatile commodity market in decades. The next quarter will be the first clean read on whether the new normal is a higher earnings base.Q4 will be the first full quarter in a while without those headwinds.