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This Week's Exclusive Content Gold, Copper, and Missiles: 3 Big Dividend Raises After a Breakout YearAuthor: Leo Miller. Posted: 2/2/2026. 
Article Highlights - Defense and mining stocks surged in 2025, and a select group of market leaders is now translating those gains into meaningful dividend increases.
- The dividend moves offer a timely read on how these companies are balancing shareholder returns with commodity and defense-cycle uncertainty heading into 2026.
- Each name highlighted brings a different mix of yield, payout structure, and catalysts that could shape total returns beyond last year’s run.
For the defense and mining industries, 2025 was a standout year. The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (BATS: ITA), which tracks a basket of over 40 U.S. aerospace and defense companies, delivered a total return of nearly 49% in 2025 — its best calendar-year performance in more than a decade. The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (NYSEARCA: XME), tracking over 30 U.S. mining and metals stocks, posted an even bigger gain — roughly an 83% total return, its best year since 2016. Several large companies in these sectors are now rewarding shareholders after those landmark gains by meaningfully boosting dividends. Below are the details on the dividend changes and a brief look at each company's outlook for 2026. Franco-Nevada Boosts Dividend Over 15% Recent public comments from political and business leaders have renewed discussion around U.S. gold reserves, national debt, and the role gold has historically played during periods of monetary stress.
In a free report, one analyst examines why gold audits and revaluations have occurred in past debt crises, how those events affected the dollar, and what investors may want to understand about protecting savings during periods of potential monetary change. The guide focuses on historical precedent and preparedness rather than prediction. Download the free report here First up is Franco-Nevada (NYSE: FNV), a company focused on royalties and streaming in the gold and precious-metals space. The Canadian stock delivered a 78% total return in 2025, helped by the large rise in gold and silver prices. On Jan. 26, Franco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44, a 16% increase over its prior payout. The company expects to pay its next dividend on Mar. 26 to shareholders of record on Mar. 12. The stock's indicated dividend yield is approximately 0.70%. That yield is modest, but investors should remember that strong share-price gains, like Franco's in 2025, reduce the yield for new buyers even when the cash payout rises. Franco's shares remain highly correlated with gold and silver price movements. On Jan. 30 the stock slid roughly 10.5% after gold and silver fell about 10% and 29%, respectively — a reminder that metals-exposed stocks can be volatile. That said, major banks including Deutsche Bank and Citi released bullish price targets on these metals earlier in the month. Southern Copper Caps Off Strong 2025 With Dividend Increase Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO) was another big gainer in 2025, returning about 68% for the year. The company is one of the world's largest copper producers, with operations in Mexico and other parts of South America. On Jan. 22, Southern Copper declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.00, an 11% increase, and also announced a stock dividend of 0.0085 shares per share outstanding. That means shareholders will receive 0.0085 additional shares for each share they own; if a stock dividend would result in fractional shares, the company will pay cash based on a share price of $179.93. Note that Southern Copper's dividend can vary from quarter to quarter depending on business results. These dividends are payable on Feb. 27 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 10. Because of the mix of cash and stock components, assigning a precise forward-looking yield is difficult; based on the cash dividend alone and assuming similar future payments, the yield would be roughly 2.1%. Copper prices will be a major driver of SCCO's performance. Goldman Sachs is moderately bearish on copper in the near term but remains bullish over the next decade, which could support the company's outlook. L3Harris Raises Dividend, Gains DoD Investment in Missile Business Finally, defense contractor L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) — one of the largest U.S. defense contractors — posted an impressive 42% total return in 2025. On Jan. 23, L3Harris declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25, a 4% increase. The company expects to pay this dividend in March; details on the record date were included in its announcement. The stock's indicated yield is now about 1.5%, above the S&P 500's roughly 1.1% yield. L3Harris also said it will spin off its missile solutions business into a separate publicly traded company. The U.S. Department of Defense will invest $1 billion in the new entity — a clear signal of government support for expanding solid rocket motor capacity. L3Harris plans to retain a controlling stake in the missile business, which could be an important growth driver. The MarketBeat consensus price target still implies modest downside for L3Harris shares, though several analysts issued price targets above the stock's then-current level after the Jan. 13 announcement.
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