IAG vs ICAGY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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: ICAGY 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. IAG and ICAGY 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 IAG and ICAGY 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.

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 ~3,800 people.

Full IAG guide

International Consolidated Airlines Group, usually called IAG, is the Madrid-domiciled, London-listed holding company formed in 2011 by the merger of British Airways and Iberia. It has since added Aer Lingus, the Barcelona low-cost carrier Vueling, the long-haul budget brand LEVEL and IAG Loyalty, which runs the Avios currency and the British Airways Holidays business. The group flies around 600 aircraft, anchors its network on London Heathrow, Madrid and Dublin, and earns roughly 30% of its capacity on the North Atlantic, where it runs a joint business with American Airlines. ICAGY is a sponsored ADR traded over the counter in the US; each ADR equals two ordinary shares, so its dollar price tracks the London price of IAG (around ~411p) multiplied by two and converted at the pound-dollar rate.

Full ICAGY guide

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

• IAG drivers: Cote Gold throughput and the Q4 technical report; Gold price leverage, partly clawed back by royalties.
• ICAGY drivers: Premium North Atlantic demand; IAG Loyalty and Avios.

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: 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. For ICAGY, fuel is the largest single risk.

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 IAG if you believe its drivers more; ICAGY 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 IAG and ICAGY guides.

IAG. As of October 16, 2026 IAG trades at ~9.1x trailing and ~7.6x forward earnings and ~5x EV/EBITDA. The 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. Consensus for the September quarter, reported November 5, is ~$0.43 adjusted EPS on ~$880 million of revenue.

ICAGY. Trailing figures combine full-year 2025 with the first half of 2026: revenue of ~€33.4 billion and pre-exceptional operating profit of ~€4.9 billion, after the first half fell ~6% on fuel. Profit after tax over the same span is roughly ~€3.1 billion, which against a ~$24 billion (~€21 billion) market value gives a single-digit P/E near 7 times. The 52-week range for ICAGY is about ~$9.10 to ~$13.07, so the ADR sits in the middle. A low multiple is normal for airlines because earnings are cyclical and exposed to fuel, which is why buybacks and the Avios business draw so much attention.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): IAG shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.68 billion, reported in U.S. dollars, net income (ttm) ~$1.16 billion, a ~31% net margin, 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; ICAGY shows adr price (2 ordinary shares) ~$11.04, market cap ~$24B, revenue (ttm) ~€33.4B (~$39B), operating profit before exceptionals (ttm) ~€4.9B.

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