There are metals...and there are the companies that mine them. Not exactly rocket-science-level analysis, right?

But the relationship between the two is not ALWAYS constant. And when it shifts, traders like you should pay attention.

Here is my MoneyShow Chart of the Day. It shows the performance of three ETFs – the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), and the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ).

GLD, GDX, GDXJ (1-Year % Change)

chart

Data by YCharts

GLD is a vehicle for investing in gold itself. GDX owns senior gold mining stocks with an average market capitalization of $28 billion as of April 30. GDXJ owns junior names with an average market cap of around $5.2 billion.

I circled two areas on the chart for easy reference. One covers the stretch from November 2024 through March 2025, while the other highlights trading activity from early-May onward. What should stand out?

  1. Yes, metals and shares of the companies that mine them GENERALLY track each other – and they’re all doing well
  2. But for a long stretch of time, miners UNDERPERFORMED metals, and juniors underperformed seniors
  3. That is now changing, with miners OUTPERFORMING metals, and juniors outperforming seniors

My take? Worries about operational challenges – and a general “disbelief” in sector stocks by mainstream investors – led to lagging performance for miners. This happened despite strong underlying fundamentals. Now, that’s changing...in a big way.

Several of our MoneyShow contributors who are sector experts have been predicting this. They’ve also been suggesting you capitalize by targeting miners, which give you the benefit of LEVERAGE when underlying metals prices rise.

I’m not going to argue with that thesis – because the charts certainly aren’t! I suggest you continue to watch (and profit from) this trend in the days and weeks ahead.