BTG vs IAG: Which Is the Better Buy in 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: BTG 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. BTG and IAG 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 BTG and IAG 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.

B2Gold Corp (BTG) is a Vancouver-based intermediate gold producer. Its established operations are the Fekola complex in Mali, the Masbate mine in the Philippines, and the Otjikoto mine in Namibia, and in 2025 it brought its Goose mine in Nunavut, Canada into production, reaching commercial production on October 2, 2025. The company makes money by mining and selling gold (with some silver byproduct), so its revenue and margins are driven by the volume of ounces produced and the prevailing gold price relative to its mining costs. In 2025 B2Gold produced roughly 980,000 ounces of gold and reported record annual revenue of over $3 billion.

Full BTG guide

IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG, TSX: IMG) mines gold at three sites and reports in U.S. dollars. Cote Gold in northern Ontario is the growth asset, operated by IAMGOLD in a 70/30 partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining, and is now one of the largest gold mines in production in Canada. Westwood in Quebec is a smaller, higher-cost underground operation held at 100%. Essakane in Burkina Faso is the cash engine, an open-pit mine in which IAMGOLD's interest was reduced from 90% to 85% in June 2025 when the state took a larger share. The Nelligan Mining Complex in Quebec is the main exploration project and takes roughly ~$24 million of the ~$54 million 2026 exploration budget. The company employs about ~3,700 people.

Full IAG guide

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

• BTG drivers: Goose mine ramp; Gold-price leverage.
• IAG drivers: Cote Gold throughput and the Q4 technical report; Gold price leverage, partly clawed back by royalties.

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: B2Gold's results are highly cyclical and move with the gold price, which is volatile and outside the company's control, so margins and the share price can swing sharply. For IAG, roughly half of attributable production comes from Essakane in Burkina Faso, where the company states plainly that security incidents continue and that it incurs additional cost moving people, contractors and supplies to site.

Pick BTG if you believe its drivers more; IAG 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 BTG and IAG guides.

BTG. B2Gold's financials are commodity-driven: revenue, earnings, and valuation are dominated by the gold price and by how many ounces it produces relative to its costs. Record 2025 revenue and strong Q1 2026 cash flow reflected high gold prices, while 2026 guidance of lower production and elevated all-in sustaining costs reflects the transitional Goose ramp. Gold-producer multiples often look low in strong-price years because investors discount the cyclicality of commodity earnings.

IAG. The trailing multiple looks undemanding, but it is computed on earnings produced at a realized gold price of ~$4,631 per ounce in the first half, well above the ~$4,000 assumption the company used to set its own cost and royalty guidance. Adjusted EBITDA of ~$507.3 million in the quarter and mine-site free cash flow of ~$368.9 million are what retired the credit facility drawing and funded the buyback. Reported all-in sustaining cost of ~$2,271 per ounce is the number to track quarter to quarter, since it includes sustaining capital and royalties and therefore captures the full cost of keeping the ounces coming, unlike cash cost.

Headline figures (approximate, FY2025 results (reported Feb 2026) and Q1 2026 results): BTG shows revenue (2025 full year) ~$3.0 billion (record annual revenue, over $3 billion), gold production (2025) ~980,000 ounces (Fekola, Masbate, Otjikoto ~926,000 plus Goose ~53,000), 2026 production guidance ~820,000 to 970,000 ounces, with Goose guided near ~250,000 ounces, all-in sustaining costs (q1 2026) ~$1,964 per ounce, with cash operating costs ~$1,005 per ounce; IAG shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.68 billion, reported in U.S. dollars, q2 2026 revenue ~$856.9 million, up ~47% year over year, all-in sustaining cost (q2 2026, incl. royalties) ~$2,271 per ounce sold, vs 2026 guidance of ~$2,000 to ~$2,150, adjusted eps ~$0.42 in Q2 2026; ~$1.98 trailing twelve months.

BTG and IAG 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 BTG and IAG exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.