Sibanye Stillwater Surges Past $14: What's Driving This Precious Metals Stock Rally?

The Rally and the Smart Money Entry

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE: SBSW) has been on a tear, climbing 221% over the past year and hitting a 52-week peak of $14.08 in mid-December 2025. But what’s catching the eye of institutional players? According to SEC filings from mid-December, FNY Investment Advisers made a deliberate move into the mining giant, establishing a fresh 429,100-share stake valued at approximately $4.82 million. For context, this position immediately claimed 1.6% of the fund’s total 13F reportable assets—significant enough to land SBSW in FNY’s top-five holdings across its 1,462-position portfolio.

Why Institutions Are Looking at SBSW

The timing of FNY’s entry reveals something worth paying attention to. New CEO Richard Stewart took over in early October, and the company’s restructuring initiatives are showing tangible results. In Q3 alone, Sibanye reported adjusted EBITDA of $560 million—a staggering jump from $184 million in the prior year. That’s the kind of operational turnaround that catches professional investors’ attention.

Beyond management changes, the company benefits from a potent tailwind: gold prices averaged 35% higher in Q3 compared to the year-ago period. Combined with Sibanye’s diversified exposure to platinum group metals (PGMs)—including platinum, palladium, and rhodium—the company sits at the intersection of two commodities benefiting from industrial and investment demand. The platinum symbol has historically represented wealth, and the company’s PGM operations give it direct exposure to that narrative.

A Look Under the Hood

Sibanye Stillwater operates a vertically integrated mining and metallurgical business spanning South Africa, the United States, Zimbabwe, Canada, and Argentina. The company extracts and processes gold and platinum group metals, then sells to industrial customers and commodity traders worldwide. It also runs a PGM recycling operation, adding a secondary revenue stream.

At quarter-end, the company posted:

• Market cap: $9.51 billion
• Revenue (TTM): $6.15 billion
• Net income (TTM): -$140.48 million
• Share price: $13.29 (as of mid-December)

The Catch: Profitability Matters

Here’s where caution enters the picture. Despite the operational improvements and soaring adjusted EBITDA, Sibanye Stillwater remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis, posting a trailing 12-month net loss of $140.5 million. The stock’s proximity to 52-week highs means valuations are stretched. Savvy investors might want to see a pullback before jumping in—letting the market confirm that the company’s turnaround narrative is sustainable, not just a commodity-price bounce.

FNY Investment Advisers’ entry validates the turnaround thesis, but timing matters. For retail investors, that may mean patience pays.