Comparing Aris Mining (NYSE:ARMN) and Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE:FSM)

Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE:FSM) and Aris Mining (NYSE:ARMN) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fortuna Silver Mines and Aris Mining”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fortuna Silver Mines	$1.03 billion	1.32	-$50.84 million	$0.08	55.00
Aris Mining	$484.51 million	1.32	$11.42 million	($0.02)	-187.50

Aris Mining has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Fortuna Silver Mines. Aris Mining is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fortuna Silver Mines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.8% of Fortuna Silver Mines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.8% of Aris Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Fortuna Silver Mines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Fortuna Silver Mines has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aris Mining has a beta of 0.15, suggesting that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Fortuna Silver Mines and Aris Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fortuna Silver Mines	2.45%	10.08%	6.87%
Aris Mining	-0.66%	4.97%	2.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Fortuna Silver Mines and Aris Mining, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fortuna Silver Mines	0	1	0	0	2.00
Aris Mining	0	0	0	0	0.00

Fortuna Silver Mines currently has a consensus price target of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 47.73%. Given Fortuna Silver Mines’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Fortuna Silver Mines is more favorable than Aris Mining.

Summary

Fortuna Silver Mines beats Aris Mining on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fortuna Silver Mines

Fortuna Mining Corp. engages in the precious and base metal mining in Argentina, Burkina Faso, Mexico, Peru, and Côte d’Ivoire. It operates through Mansfield, Sanu, Sango, Cuzcatlan, Bateas, and Corporate segments. The company primarily explores for silver, lead, zinc, and gold. Its flagship project is the Séguéla gold mine, which consists of approximately 62,000 hectares and is located in the Worodougou Region of the Woroba District, Côte d’Ivoire. The company was formerly known as Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. and changed its name to Fortuna Mining Corp. in June 2024. Fortuna Mining Corp. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

About Aris Mining

Aris Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold properties in Canada, Colombia, and Guyana. It also explores for silver and copper deposits. The company was formerly known as GCM Mining Corp. and changed its name to Aris Mining Corporation in September 2022. Aris Mining Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada.