Gold.com (GOLD) Q1 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

DATE

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Chief Executive Officer - Gregory N. Roberts
• Chief Financial Officer - Cary Dickson

TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue -- $3.27 billion, representing an 11% decrease from $3.68 billion in the prior-year period.
• Revenue Excluding Forward Sales -- $952.9 million, growing 51% year over year due to higher average selling prices of gold and silver and increased ounces sold.
• Gross Profit -- $89.6 million, an increase of 23% year over year driven by higher profits in the wholesale and direct-to-consumer segments.
• Gross Margin -- 2.74%, an increase from 1.98% in the same quarter last year.
• Net Income -- $1.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $900,000 or $0.04 per diluted share a year ago.
• Adjusted Net Income -- $13.2 million, representing a 172% increase from $4.9 million in the prior-year period.
• EBITDA -- $17.4 million, increasing 22% from $14.3 million in the same quarter last year.
• SG&A Expenses -- $71.2 million, up 19% year over year due to a $6.7 million increase in compensation and $2.4 million in higher advertising costs.
• Interest Income -- $6.3 million, up 13% primarily reflecting higher income from the direct-to-consumer segment.
• Interest Expense -- $12.5 million, a 1% decrease from $12.6 million due to lower borrowings on the trading credit facility.
• Cash Balance -- $126.8 million, a decrease from $578 million at the end of fiscal 2026 driven by a $700.5 million reduction in deferred revenue and other advances.
• Gold Ounces Sold -- 463,000 ounces, an increase of 5% year over year but an 11% decline from the previous quarter.
• Silver Ounces Sold -- 14 million ounces, growing 35% year over year despite a 9% decrease from the sequential quarter.
• Minting Production -- 9 million ounces of silver and 26,000 ounces of gold, representing the initial performance of the newly reported Minting and Refining segment.
• Refining Capacity -- 65% utilization, following the integration of the Idaho refining business acquired through Sunshine Mint.
• DTC New Customers -- 96,100, up 38% year over year primarily due to the acquisition of Monex and increased activity at JM Bullion.
• DTC Ticket Volume -- 273,000, representing a 21% increase year over year reflecting growth at SGI and Silver Gold Bull.
• DTC Average Order Value -- $3,480, representing a 10% decrease from the same period last year.
• Total DTC Customers -- 4.8 million, growing 13% year over year following the acquisition of Monex.
• Secured Loan Portfolio -- $107 million, an increase of 4% from the prior-year period but a 7% decrease from the previous quarter.
• Dividend Payments -- $35.1 million total, including a $0.20 regular quarterly dividend and a $1.00 per share nonrecurring special dividend.

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RISKS

• Roberts stated, "the market share of the overall business shrunk considerably. And so there was less volume you know, overall," noting a contraction in total market activity during the quarter.
• Roberts stated, "some of the sales that we did, we needed to you know, cut margin to get the sales," indicating that the company reduced margins to maintain transaction volumes in a subdued environment.

SUMMARY

Gold.com, Inc. (NYSE:GOLD) reported a return to profitability in the fiscal first quarter of 2027 despite what management described as a slow operating environment characterized by rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. Management stated that the company's fully integrated platform, which now includes a dedicated minting and refining segment, supported higher gross profit and significant customer acquisition growth. The company focused on integrating recent acquisitions, including Monex and the Sunshine Mint, while managing its substantial inventory base and maintaining a strong liquidity position. Management reported that the diversified business model across wholesale, direct-to-consumer, and secured lending segments is designed to achieve sustainable profitability throughout various market cycles.

• CEO Roberts noted that the recent three-month period was one of the slowest market environments he has observed, with total market volume shrinking considerably.
• Management launched a separate Minting and Refining segment this quarter to gain greater control over product availability and pricing stability across the supply chain.
• The company reported that its partnership with Tether remains positive, with recent adjustments reducing lease balances to approximately $800 million at the end of September.
• CEO Roberts stated, "I am optimistic that we are going to continue the trend that we did last fiscal year," regarding the active M&A pipeline and the potential for better deal terms in a slower market.
• Management noted that recent election results have historically led to an increase in activity among their core precious metals customer base.
• The company reported continued progress in international expansion through its LPM business in Hong Kong and a joint venture in Shanghai.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• Backwardation: A market condition where the current spot price of a commodity is higher than prices for future delivery.
• DTC: Direct-to-Consumer, a segment involving sales made directly to individual investors via online marketplaces and websites.
• Forward Sales: Financial contracts to sell precious metals at a specified future date and price, often used for hedging purposes.
• JM Bullion: A major online retailer of precious metals and a subsidiary of the company.
• LPM: A precious metals dealer based in Hong Kong that serves the Asian market.
• Sunshine Mint: A private minting operation acquired by the company that produces precious metal products for sovereign and private programs.
• XAUT: Tether Gold, a digital token backed by physical gold, in which the company maintains holdings.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Hello? Good afternoon and welcome to gold.com's conference call for the fiscal first quarter ended 09/30/2026. My name is Tom, and I will be your operator this afternoon. Before this call, gold.com issued its results for the fiscal first quarter 2027 in a press release. Which is available in the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.gold.com. You can find the link to the investor relations section at the top of the home page. Joining us for today's call are gold.com's CEO, Gregory N. Roberts, and CFO, Cary Dickson. Following their remarks, we will open the call to your questions.

Then before we conclude the call, I will provide the necessary cautions regarding the forward looking statements made by management during the call. I would like to remind everyone that this call is being recorded and will be made available for replay via a link on the investor relations section of the A-Mark's website. Now I would like to turn the call over to gold.com CEO, mister Gregory N. Roberts. Sir, please proceed.

Gregory N. Roberts: Thank you, and good afternoon to everyone. I appreciate you joining our call today. Our fiscal 2 thousand 27 first quarter results reflect the resilience of our fully integrated platform in a slower market environment. Following the exceptional levels of activity we experienced during the second half of fiscal 26, activity moderated from Q4 but was higher than a year ago, and profitability improved materially. Conditions across the precious metals market were subdued during Q1. Reflecting a tough macro backdrop that included rising interest rates, uncertainty ahead of the US midterm elections, geopolitical conflicts, and inflationary concerns stemming from high energy prices, and activity cooled from the exceptional pace we saw in the first quarter of calendar 26.

Even so, we sold more gold and silver and added more customers than we did a year ago. Revenues were 3.3 billion, and excluding forward sales we used to hedge, they were up more than 50% from a year ago. Gross profit rose 23%, and we reported net income of $1.6 million or $0.05 per diluted share compared with a loss in the year ago quarter. The improvement reflects the scale and breadth of the platform we have built. Wholesale trading, direct to consumer, lending, storage, and now minting and refining work together, giving us more ways to drive earnings under most conditions. We have seen this market behavior before.

A year ago, activity moderated in much the same way, and we reported a small loss. Within a couple of quarters, precious metals were heading toward historically high levels, and we delivered exceptional results. This year, a similar type of environment produced a profit, and a meaningful increase in adjusted earnings. We cannot predict the next move in the market, but we are positioned to deliver in any environment And our goal is smoother, more consistent, sustainable profitability through the cycle. In our direct to consumer segment, gross profit growth was driven by a larger customer base, including the addition of Monex, and higher average order values at JM Bullion.

In wholesale, gross profit increased on stronger premium spreads and higher ounces sold. Reflecting our work with major retailers and institutional customers. Even as transaction volumes were lower, we are continuing to expand at LPM in Hong Kong and Singapore and through Sunshine Mint's joint venture in Shanghai. We are seeing continued progress from our partnership with Tether across storage, trading, and metal leasing. Secured lending delivered higher in. Interest income on larger average balances and improved profitability. Alongside storage, lending deepens customer relationships across a platform that spans the precious metals value chain. Acquisitions remain central to our strategy, This quarter, we began reporting minting refining as its own segment, combining the SilverTowne Mint with Sunshine Mint.

Which we acquired in April. Enabling greater control over product availability pricing stability across our supply chain. Together, they give us added capacity, a stronger position with sovereign mid programs such as the US Mint, and modern facilities for developing our own products for our customers and brands. Operations across these businesses are running well, and automation is accelerating. Including full automation for several major customers. Integration is moving forward as these operations tend to come together over the over the coming quarters, we see meaningful synergies ahead. We remain focused on driving synergies across our business units and maximizing the efficiencies at every level.

We are operating from a position of strength, continuing to allocate capital efficiently to build and invest in our platform, and open new channels for growth. We remain confident in our direction, the long term fundamentals of our industry, and creating lasting value for shareholders. With that, I will turn the call over to our Chief Financial Officer, Cary Dickson, who will provide an overview of our financial performance. I will then return with some closing remarks and take your questions. Cary?

Jill Van: Thank you, Gregory, and good afternoon, everyone. Our revenues for fiscal Q1 27 decreased 11% to $3.265 billion from $3.68 billion in Q1 of last year. Excluding a decrease of $1.38 billion of forward sales. Our revenues increased $952.9 million or 51%, which was due to higher average selling prices of gold and silver as well as an increase in gold and silver ounces sold. Revenues also increased due to acquisitions of Monex, in January, 2026. And the Sunshine Mint in April, 2026. Whose results were not included in the same year ago period.

Gross profit for fiscal Q1 27 increased to 23% to $89.6 million, or 2.74% of revenue from $72.9 million or 1.98% of revenue in Q1 of last year. The increase was due to an increase in gross profits earned by both the wholesale and ancillary services. Segment and the direct to consumer segment. Including the acquisitions of Monex and the Sunshine Mint, whose results were not included in the same year ago, period. SGA expenses for fiscal Q1 27 increased 19% to $71.2 million from $59.8 million in Q1 of last year.

The change was primarily due to an increase in compensation expense of $6.7 million higher advertising cost of $2.4 million, increased the insurance cost of $700 thousand and an increase in facilities expense of $600 thousand. SGA expenses for the 3 months ended 09/30/2026. Included $5.2 million of expenses from Monex and the Sunshine Mint. Whose results were not included or were not fully included in the same year ago period. Excluding the increase from these newly acquired subsidiaries, SG&A increased $6.2 million year over year. Depreciation and amortization expense for fiscal Q1 27 increased to 20% to $9.1 million from $7.6 million in the same year ago quarter.

The change was primarily due to an $800 thousand increase in depreciation expense resulting from higher capital expenditures and a $700 thousand increase in amortization expense. Interest income for fiscal Q1 27 increased 13% to $6.3 million from $5.6 million in the same year ago quarter. The increase was primarily due to an increase in interest income earned by our direct to consumer segment of $700 thousand Interest expense for fiscal Q1 27 decreased 1% to $12.5 million from $12.6 million in Q1 last year. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $5.8 million associated with our trading credit facility due to reduced borrowings and lower interest and fees of $500 thousand related to product financing arrangements.

Partially offset by an increase of 6.2 million related to precious metals leases driven by higher overall borrowings. Earnings from equity method investments in Q1 27 increased $1.4 million to earnings of $500 thousand from a loss of $900 thousand in the same year ago quarter. Due to increased earnings of our equity method investees Other income and expense net of fiscal Q1 was an expense of $700 thousand. Compared to income of $2.2 million in Q1 of last year. The change was primarily due to a $4.3 million increase in expenses related to a contingent consideration fair value adjustments partially offset by a 700 thousand unrecognized gain on our holdings of XAUT.

Net income attributable to the company for the first quarter of fiscal 27 totaled $1.6 million or $0.05 per diluted share. Compared to a net loss of $900 thousand or $0.04 per diluted share in the same year ago quarter. Adjusted net income before provision for income taxes a non GAAP financial measure, which excludes depreciation, amortization, acquisition costs, and the contingent consideration fair value adjustments for Q1 fiscal 27 totaled $13.2 million, an increase of $8.4 million or 172% compared to $4.9 million in the same year ago quarter. EBITDA a non GAAP liquidity measure, for Q1 fiscal 27. Totaled $17.4 million, an increase of $3.1 million or 22% compared to $14.3 million in the same year ago quarter.

Turning to our balance sheet now. We continue to maintain strong liquidity position supported by our product financing arrangements. Precious metals lease facilities, and our $250 million uncommitted trading credit facility which had no outstanding borrowings at quarter end. At quarter end, we had $126.8 million of cash compared to $578 million at the end of 2026. The decrease in cash was primarily due to a $700.5 million reduction in deferred revenue and other advances. Including precious metal leases, partially offset by $225.7 million of net product financing and a $105.7 million increase in account payable and other payables. We also paid $35.1 million in dividends during the quarter. Our nonrestricted inventory totaled $1.348 billion as of 09/30/2026.

Compared to $1.562 billion as of the end of fiscal 26. During the quarter, we paid our regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share. Along with a nonrecurring special dividend of $1 per share. Totaling $35.1 million. A-Mark's board of directors has also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share maintaining the company's current dividend program. The dividend is payable on 12/02/2026 to stockholders of record as of as of 11/19/2026. This completes my financial summary I will now turn the call over to Gregory who is presenting for Thor today. He will provide an update on our key operating metrics. Gregory?

Gregory N. Roberts: Thank you, Cary. As Cary said, Thor's traveling this week, and, he will return to cover this section next quarter. But I will take over for here and go over a few of the key operating metrics for our fiscal first quarter 2 thousand 27. In the quarter, we sold 463 thousand ounces of gold, which was up 5% from Q1 of last year. But down 11% from the prior quarter. We sold 14 million ounces of silver in Q1 27, which was up 35% from Q1 of last year, but down 9% from the prior quarter. In our Minting and Refining segment, we began reporting separately this fiscal year.

We minted approximately 9 million ounces of silver and 26 thousand ounces of gold during quarter. And our refining capacity utilization was approximately 65%. The number of new customers in our DTC segment which is defined as those who registered set up a new account, or made a purchase for the first time during the period was 96.1 thousand. This was up 38% from Q1 of last year and up 42% from the prior quarter. This year over year change in new customers was primarily due to the acquisition of Monex in January, 2026, as well as increased JMBullion activity. Total DTC ticket volume was approximately 273 thousand in Q1 of 27 up 21% from Q1 of last year.

Primarily due to increases from SGI and silver gold bull. Partially offset by decreases at JMB and AMS. The DTC average order value was $3.48 thousand down 10% from Q1 of last year. While JM Bullion's average order value increased 16% to $2.94 thousand. The number of total customers in the DTC segment at the end of the first quarter was approximately 4.8 million which was a 13% increase from the prior year. These changes in customer based metrics were primarily due to the acquisition of Monex in January, 2026 as well as activity at JMBullion.

Finally, the number of secured loans at the end of September totaled 372 a decrease of 12% from September 30, 2025, and up 1% from the end of June 2026. The dollar value of our loan portfolio as of September 30, 2026 totaled $107 million up 4% from September 30, 2025. And a decrease of 7% from June 30, 2026. Now for my closing remarks. This quarter demonstrated the resilience of our fully integrated platform in a slow market environment. We grew gross profit and ounces sold year over year, expanded our customer base, and began reporting our minting and refining segment. Which further strengthens our vertically integrated model.

Our strategic focus remains on integrating and realizing cost savings, and the synergies from our recent acquisitions. Expanding both our domestic and geographic reach. As well as further diversifying our customer base. With an expanded portfolio of category leading brands, and improved operational leverage. I believe gold.com is positioned to capture growth across multiple markets, and could continue to deliver long term value for our shareholders. This concludes my prepared remarks. Operator, we can now open the line for questions.

Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is now open for questions. You wish to join the queue to ask a question at this time, please press 1. Your telephone keypad. We do ask if listening on a speakerphone this afternoon, that you pick up your handset while asking your question to provide optimal sound quality. Once again, please press 1 on your keypad at this time if you wish to join the queue to ask a question. Please hold a moment while we poll for questions. And our first question today is coming from Thomas Forte from Maxim Group. Thomas, your line is live. Please go ahead.

Thomas Forte: Great. So first off, Tom, welcome to the call. Gregory, I have, 2 questions. And I apologize The first 1 is not perfectly worded. But, hopefully, you will understand what I am asking.

Gregory N. Roberts: Hopefully, the answer will be better worded than you asking the question.

Thomas Forte: Well, that I know. Okay.

Gregory N. Roberts: So go right ahead, Tom.

Thomas Forte: Alright. Thank you. So at a high level, should we think of your ability to generate a profit in a slow operating environment versus prior periods due to not experiencing backwardation and that ex-backwardation you should have a GAAP profit in every quarter.

Gregory N. Roberts: Yeah. I mean, my goal is to have a GAAP profit in every quarter, of course. You know, I think the business is growing very quickly. We. We are very pleased with the acquisitions that we have made as I said before, we are integrating. We are getting synergies. You know, the last 3 months have been probably about as slow as I have seen, and I have been doing this a very long time. I thought, you know, this Q1 of last fiscal year, I, you know, I commented then that I thought it was you know, very slow. You know? But this seems slower to me. So, you know, the performance that we had, was.

I thought, you know, we achieved and got what we could out of it. I think that, you know, going forward, I believe we are building a company that is has more diversified income streams, and I believe we are growing the business and taking market share. But to be quite honest, in this last quarter, you know, the market share of the overall business shrunk considerably. And so there was less volume you know, overall. And you know, our segments, although we likely maintained market share, there was just, you know, less margin to get And, you know, some of the sales that we did, we needed to you know, cut margin to get the sales.

So, you know, I but to answer your question, the answer is yes.

Thomas Forte: Excellent. Alright. And then historically, in slow periods, you have taken advantage of opportunities on the strategic M&A side. So I would appreciate. I know you have talked about you just said that you are pleased with the deals you have done and integrating them. But I would appreciate an update on your thoughts on strategic M&A.

Gregory N. Roberts: Yeah. I mean, I have been saying this for 10 years. You know, when the market slows down, you know, it gives us it gives us opportunity and, you know, deals that we may have felt were too pricey in the past during a more active market. Those tend to become either cheaper or they become easier to negotiate terms. And, sellers become. You know, lose a little bit of their leverage. So do not think that is a surprise. I think that is, you know, pretty common in all businesses that when they slow down or, you know, change happens and opportunity is there.

We have what I believe is a very good pipeline right now for M&A and deals that we are looking at. So I am optimistic that we are going to continue the trend that we did last fiscal year. And, you know, I am excited about the prospects of the businesses we own, and I am excited about the prospects of adding new businesses that, you know, lift the entire ship, which is my goal.

Thomas Forte: May I add a quick question then? So, in the strategic M&A front,, you. You have broadened your aperture a little. To the extent you have gotten into wine on a collection basis or numismatics on a collection basis, So when you talk high level about your strategic M&A, are you talking about the broader aperture or just the historical precious metals focus?

Gregory N. Roberts: I would say that the broader gold.com business, I mean, the collectibles side, at the moment, as I look forward, maybe the next couple quarters, you know, I do not think there is a material acquisition out there for us. I think that we are progressing very positively on some organic growth items that, you know, we have been able to take our platform and create some new income streams that I think are very promising and have good potential. But at the moment and as I look out the next couple quarters, I would say the M&A activity would likely be more focused in on the macro A-Mark business. Analyst (Thomas Forte): Thank you, Gregory.

Jill Van: Thank you, Tom.

Thomas Forte: Thank you.

Gregory N. Roberts: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Your next question is coming from Craig Irwin from Roth Capital. Craig, your line is live. Please go ahead.

Andrew Scutt: Hey, guys. it is, Andrew on for Craig. Thank you for taking the questions. First 1 for me, I know a lot of this might be answered when the queue comes out. But, as you begin to report the minting business separately, are there any, you know, operating metrics or anything we should focus on to gauge, its performance and then just kind of, like, over the next couple months, is there any milestones we should kind of, you know, look out for to see if you are capturing the benefits of the integration?

Gregory N. Roberts: Yeah. I mean, we added a metric, I believe, this quarter that talks about our capacity and the percentage of capacity that we are operating at. So I think that is a that is a metric you should watch. I think premiums, again, like, all you know, all of our shareholders are focused on premiums and when premiums are higher, for sovereign mint products, it is going to raise premiums for private mint products. So I think, you know, the premiums are key to a number of parts of our business. And then as always, the premiums, are they are the premiums higher, and are they create.

Are the premiums higher because there is demand that is increasing, which is increasing those premiums or is demand flat, and, you know, the premiums are just holding because there is a bit of an equilibrium. But I think the minting you know, the minting is important And I think we are very enthusiastic about the as we have been able to combine both Sunshine Mint, the SilverTowne Mint under common management, We are excited about the prospects of Sunshine Mint that Sunshine Mint that we have in Shanghai. And that mint is picking up some important customers you know, likely due to some management changes. And as well as just the A-Mark backing.

Of the business seems to be opening some doors for us you know, in Shanghai. And that is, you know, that is trickling and coming over to our LPM business in Hong Kong. So I think the minting business has a lot a lot of momentum at the moment. You know, it is a it is a volume based business, and the profitability of the minting business has a lot to do with what you know, what level your percentage of your capacity you are operating at because there is you know, you cannot just, you know, flip a switch and turn the mints on and off.

You have to maintain you know, a level of activity, you know, even if you are, you know, even if you are not producing, you know, at a high percentage of your capacity. You know, we do our best in the minting business when they are running 27. And if we get to an environment again where we are running, you know, 27 at all 3 or 4 of our mints, you know, that profitability is going to be material. The other new item that is mentioned.

Was mentioned earlier through our controlling acquisition of Sunshine Mint, we have picked up a small refining business in Idaho which is giving us some flexibility particularly on some of the buybacks that we experienced heavy volume and buybacks. Last fiscal year. You know, having some a little bit of extra refining capacity. Is going to help us in that segment. As we buy back you know, buy back product from the marketplace that needs to be melted, refined, and then turned into some other type of more desirable product.

Andrew Scutt: Understood. Really appreciate the color, and good segue into my next question. Just was curious, just 2 parts kind of on customer behavior recently. As you said, you guys were experiencing a bunch of buybacks last fiscal year. I was just curious how that trended in the quarter. And then I was also just curious if you had any comments. We are past the election. Any color on what you have seen in the market would be great.

Gregory N. Roberts: Yeah. Over the last 60 days, we have experienced a you know, a reasonably orderly decline in silver and gold spot prices. So you have seen gold come off of you know, its highs in January, February. We settled at around 4.4 thousand on gold. Around $75 on silver, $70 on silver. In the last 2 weeks, you know, as we have approached the election and as interest rates have continued to be volatile, but mostly to the upside, We saw a fairly significant drop down to the 3.9 thousand level. On gold and down to $49, $50 on silver. Those were, you know, yearly lows likely, or at least 9- to 10-month lows.

So that, you know, that has affected the buybacks. When you get dropping prices, we are going to buy back less from the public as opposed to when you have record spot prices and the record spot prices are in the news every day. So I would say that in this quarter, you are. Your question related to this quarter is that our buybacks as a percentage of our new sales has dropped significantly. Understood. Thanks for the color, and, thanks for taking my question.

Andrew Scutt: And then back to the election.

Gregory N. Roberts: I mean, I-- the election question. it is a little early to tell. I think we did see towards the end of the end of October, and, you know, the first few days of November leading up to this, election, we have seen, you know, a noticeable increase in activity. And volumes it is a very small sample size. You know, we are talking maybe a week or 10 days. But I do think that if you look back historically, the type of results that we saw last night in this election has historically led to more activity in our customer base. You know, obviously, past performance is no indication of what is going to happen in the future.

But I can say just from a historical perspective, you know, whether it was the war or the interest rates or the other headwinds that we talked about last quarter, you know, there is going to be at there is going to be change. I do not know what that change will be. I do not know how it will motivate or not motivate our customer base. I can just say historically, you know, what I see setting up in congress and what I see setting up you know, in the White House, has historically been, you know, probably a bit more positive than what we saw the last 3 to 6 months.

Andrew Scutt: Great. Thanks again for taking the questions.

Gregory N. Roberts: Thank you.

Operator: And as a reminder, you wish to join the queue to ask a question at this time, please press 1 on your keypad. Once again, you may press 1 on your telephone keypad at this time, you wish to join the queue to ask a question. Your next question today is coming from Mike Baker from D.A. Davidson. Mike, your line is live. Please go ahead.

Mike Baker: Okay. Thanks. A couple. First, can I just follow-up, Gregory, on what you just said about what you are seeing know, not to make this too much about the election, but I am just curious, what is it specifically that you are seeing? Is it flipping? You know, is it when the Senate or the House flips, that historically is positive? Is it when you have gridlock? In other words, the congress and the president from different parties, or is it just-- is it a, you know, Democrats taking over? I am just curious. Your benefit of history, you know, what specifically makes you encouraged about what we saw last night?

Gregory N. Roberts: I mean, that is not an easy question to answer, but I will I will give it my best shot. I mean, our older precious metals customers, whether they are our customers, somebody else's customers, they tend the older ones tend to lean a bit more to the right, a bit more conservative. And a bit more Trump friendly. You know, that is not to say that you know, that carries on to our younger customers you know, at this point. But that is kind of what it is been historically. I think that you know, like a lot of investments and like a lot of decisions that are made in life, many of them are fear based.

And I would say that historically, when this type of big change happens, it is likely to lead to as you mentioned gridlock. And it is likely to you know, put. You know, what. The unknown going forward of this environment is likely to put some fear in our customers. You know, we tended, you know, we tended to do better when Trump was out of office. You know, then we have probably you know, we did when he was in office in his first term. And so I, you know, I just think it is a little bit of a fear based decision tree. And you know, there is a lot of unknowns out there right now.

Know, I try not to be too political. I think the business is set up for any environment. But I see change happening, and I feel like it. there is a good possibility it will be positive for us.

Mike Baker: Yep. Fair enough. Yeah. Let's not let's not get political. Let me ask you about premiums. So volumes were down but gross margin did widen nicely and on a year over year basis. And last quarter, I think it was it was actually down. So what are you seeing in premiums?

Gregory N. Roberts: In the last 60 days, premiums have edged up a bit. And or held. We do not see the panic buying yet. We do not see we do not see the rush to buy product. But I am positive in that the premiums at the moment are trending towards, you know, higher and stability even when volumes are down a little bit. Now that is a key know, that is a key element. Know, when volumes are racing and volumes are very high, you know, it is a supply and demand thing. That. that is more demand than and you see an increase in premiums.

The fact that we are seeing some relative stability in premiums, if not rising a little bit right now, while we are in a little bit more tepid demand environment. I think is positive, you know, as we look to start, you know, the next quarter. Or as we have started the next quarter.

Mike Baker: Yep. Agreed. Okay. Let me ask you 1 more if I could. Talk a little bit about what is going on with your leasing, the economic impact of some of the leasing agreements you have with Tether. Are you borrowing more? This was a topic that came up, in the quarter, and just wondering if you guys had any comments on that.

Gregory N. Roberts: Yeah. I mean, if you look into the release and when you see the queue, you are going to see our leases have dropped significantly. So we have we had a, you know, a little bit of a timing situation at the end of last quarter. You know, it has been called out both in a news article as well as in our filings that we had you know, a very high level of leases. With Tethr. And we have adjusted those, and we have adjusted theM&And they have come down.

And I think they are currently, you know, at the end of September, I think the number on, that I looked at on the balance sheet is they are probably down in the 800 million range. So we have we have adjusted that. And as I discussed on the last call, you know, there is a little bit of a Goldilocks moment with getting it just right. When we have too many leases and we have too. We do not have enough inventory to use the leases to hedge, We have a lot of cash, and we have what in essence is an unused line fee on the leases because the leases are not being used as a pure hedge.

Which is where leases are most optimal. So I think we are pretty well positioned right now. Our liquidity is good. Our leases are where we want them both with Tethr and with the 4 or 5 other counterparties we use for leases. So I think, you know, for right now, looks like where we are at, at the end of September, At the end of September in this filing, you know, is where we are going to stabilize a bit.

So I am happy with where we are at on the leases, and the company has plenty of liquidity and plenty of access to liquidity to continue our capital deployment you know, in our 4 or 5 pillars of how we deploy, whether it be stock buybacks, whether it be buying inventory, whether it be paying down our dollar line, or whether, you know, we look to dividends or whether it is M&A. Very, very happy with our liquidity position right now. And, also just having the spot having the spot prices down, you know, it costs us a lot more capital to finance gold at 5 thousand than it does at 4 thousand or silver at a $100.

So we naturally create more liquidity and more excess capital as spot prices come down. Right. Makes sense.

Mike Baker: Thank you.

Gregory N. Roberts: Thank you.

Operator: Your next question is coming from Brian McNamara from Canaccord. Brian, your line is live. Please go ahead.

Brian McNamara: Yeah. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking our question. I just wanted to get an update on the Tether partnership. It looks like they increased their stake, Gregory. And I know in September on the call, you had mentioned the gold lease line was, quote, unquote, multiples of kind of the initial million plus agreement. And then, obviously, every 10 k comes out, and that is a big number. I think 1.5 billion. Yep. Just curious where that stands relation-wise, gold lease line potential, and all that good stuff if you can give us an update there. Thank you.

Gregory N. Roberts: Yeah. I mean, the Tethr the Tethr relationship has been great. We are we are working on a number of initiatives with them that I am very excited about. I look forward to continuing our collaboration with them. The relationship with Tethr has certainly opened up opportunities for us at A-Mark. And being able to bounce. You know, just being able to bounce potential transactions that, you know, that are good for us. Off of them. I think they bring a really great insight into the marketplace that you know, I am I am able to converse with them and take advantage of. So I think that relationship continues to be positive.

As I just said, yeah, I mean, I think our leases with them are, as you just pointed out, and the exact numbers come out in our filing, but I believe we are we are down about 700 million on leases. that is you know, has been has been a good. it is at a good size right now for us. I think we would have you know, as I said, we do not want you know, we do not want overcapacity or we do not want to be borrowing or taking funds that we cannot put to use. So I like where we are at right now.

And, yes, I mean, it was it was multiples of the initial $100 billion. Obviously, when I said it, last call, you know, even at 7 or 800 million it is still multiples of the original So it is just less multiples. But it is it is it is good for us. And, you know, I think I think we are in a good spot right now.

Brian McNamara: So that downdraft in 700 million is just more of a function of you going from kind of 10 billion to 5 million to 3 billion plus in revenue the last few quarters rather than anything detrimental to the relationship.

Gregory N. Roberts: Yeah. No. I mean, as I as I have said, there is a sweet spot and we are in a marketplace that is you know, quite volatile right now. I mean, there is a lot of unknowns. there is a lot going on. it is I have said before, there is all kinds of different factors playing into interest rates, oil, gold, equities, everything. I think that we are comfortable with where their leases are right now. And I think we have a great dialogue with them that you know, they understand that we. We are able to you know, put that money to use. And. But right now, we I have said for a number of reasons, we just.

We do not need to pay for excess capital right now. We have, you know, a number of liquidity levers that we are able to pull. You know, we are very comfortable with our special dividend last quarter. We are comfortable with our dividend now. I think we are positioned well for as I said before, our 4 or 5 different pillars of where we want to deploy capital, where we get the best return. So I have nothing but positive as it relates to Tether. And, yes, I mean, we understand that as everybody can see, you know, that they are in the open market and they have bought stock and I do not have any insight into that.

I think, you know, But I can say that they are very positive shareholders and, you know, if they believe they see the share price at a price that they believe from their analysis is advantageous, I would expect them to buy stock. Very helpful.

Brian McNamara: I appreciate the color. I will pass it on.

Gregory N. Roberts: Thank you.

Operator: At this time, this concludes our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to mister Roberts for his closing remarks.

Gregory N. Roberts: Thank you very much. As always, thanking our many shareholders. and for joining our call today, your continued interest and support. I appreciate also, our employees, our new employees, our old employees, and their dedication and commitment to A-Mark's success. Thank you to all, and, we look forward to keeping you updated, you know, on our continued progress. Throughout this Q2. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Before we conclude today's call, I would like to provide A-Mark's safe harbor statement which includes important cautions regarding forward looking statements made during this call. Statements made during this call that relate to A-Mark's future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events, and the like are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 2000 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1.93 thousand. These include statements regarding expectations with respect to growth, increasing market share, and the delivery of long term value. Future events, risks, and uncertainties individually or in the aggregate could cause actual results or circumstances to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the following.

The failure to execute the company's growth strategy, including the inability to identify suitable or available acquisition or investment opportunities, greater than anticipated costs incurred to execute this strategy, our inability to execute on our cost containment and expense reduction programs, government regulations that might impede growth, particularly in Asia, including with respect to tariff policy, the inability to successfully integrate our recently acquired businesses, the inability of the company to successfully expand its business to include cryptocurrency the inability of the company to work with its strategic partners to combine traditional precious metal assets and a blockchain-based infrastructure, changes in the current international political climate, which historically has favorably contributed to demand and volatility in the precious metals market, but also has posed certain risks and uncertainties for the company.

Increased competition for the company's higher margin services, which could depress pricing, the failure of the company's business model to respond to changes in the market environment as anticipated, changes in consumer demand and preferences for precious metal products generally, potential negative effects that inflationary pressure may have on our business, the failure of our investee companies to maintain or address the preferences of their customer bases. General risks of doing business in the commodity markets, and the strategic business, economic, financial, political, and governmental risks and other risk factors described in the company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements.

Listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements. Finally, I would like to remind everyone that a recording today's call will be available for replay via a link in the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Thank you for joining us today for A-Mark's earnings call. You may now disconnect.

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