AG vs AYA: How First Majestic Silver Corp and Aya Gold & Silver Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: AYA is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AG and AYA share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AG and AYA exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE: AG) is a precious-metals producer that operates four underground mines in Mexico: San Dimas in Durango, Santa Elena in Sonora, La Encantada in Coahuila, and Cerro Los Gatos in Chihuahua. The company mines silver and gold as its primary products, along with byproduct zinc, lead, and copper. In January 2025 First Majestic completed its roughly $1.05 billion all-stock acquisition of Gatos Silver, adding a 70% interest in the Los Gatos joint venture and lifting 2025 silver production to a record 15.4 million ounces, up about 84% from the prior year.

Full AG guide

Aya Gold & Silver Inc. operates the Zgounder silver mine in Morocco's Anti-Atlas belt, which was expanded to roughly 2,000 tonnes per day and is now running at record throughput. Zgounder accounts for essentially all of the company's revenue, about $281 million of roughly $286 million on a trailing basis. The second asset, Boumadine, is a polymetallic deposit carrying silver, gold, zinc and lead that is being drilled toward a feasibility study, with a small commercial contribution already coming from reclaiming and selling a legacy pyrite stockpile. Aya has spent 2026 enlarging its footprint around both, growing its Moroccan land package by about 35% in August to over 991 square kilometres. The company keeps its Toronto listing and moved off the OTCQX market, where it traded as AYASF, when the Nasdaq listing went live.

Full AYA guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AG drivers: Silver and gold price leverage; Los Gatos integration and scale.
• AYA drivers: Zgounder running at record rates; Boumadine as the second mine.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The single largest risk is the silver price itself: a sustained decline would compress margins far faster than the metal falls because mining costs are largely fixed. For AYA, almost everything depends on one mine in one country.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AG if you believe its drivers more; AYA if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AG and AYA guides.

AG. First Majestic posted record Q1 2026 revenue of about $476.7 million, up roughly 95% year over year, with net earnings near $128 million and EPS around $0.26 as silver and gold prices surged. The stock trades at a trailing P/E in the low 30s and a forward P/E near 18, reflecting expectations that elevated metal prices continue. The dividend yield is negligible (well under 1%), so the return case rests almost entirely on the metal price and production.

AYA. The trailing multiple looks expensive and the forward multiple looks ordinary, and the gap between them is the whole story: consensus assumes a full year of expanded Zgounder output at current silver prices. Margins support the earnings, with gross margin near 55% and operating margin near 48%, but 13x sales is a growth-miner price rather than a producer price. Next results are scheduled for August 13, 2026.

Headline figures (approximate, Q1 2026): AG shows q1 2026 revenue ~$477M, q1 2026 net earnings ~$128M, q1 2026 eps ~$0.26, q1 2026 free cash flow ~$224M; AYA shows revenue (ttm) ~$286M, up ~321% year over year, net income (ttm) ~$87M, EPS ~$0.60, market cap ~$3.9B at ~$27 per share, p/e ~45x trailing, ~18x forward.

AG and AYA are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AG and AYA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.