Capricorn Metals vs PDI Gold shares: which has more upside?

Gold miners are back in the spotlight, and many investors are weighing up where the biggest opportunities still lie. Today I’m comparing Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) and PDI Gold Ltd (ASX: PDI), two top-performing gold stocks on the ASX. If you’re looking to ride the next wave in gold, which company has more upside left? Here’s my deep dive.

The case for Capricorn Metals

Capricorn Metals is a Perth-based gold producer with two main projects: Karlawinda, an established operation in the Pilbara, and the recently acquired Mt Gibson in Western Australia’s Mid-West. The business is focused on growing through ongoing exploration and increasing its gold output. According to its most recent corporate description, Capricorn holds a resource base of 4.4 million ounces and has proven reserves of 1.3 million ounces—a strong foundation for future production.

From a fundamentals perspective, a few points stand out:

• Market capitalisation: $6.74 billion, making it a substantial player in the Aussie gold sector
• P/E ratio: 23.39, so investors are paying a decent premium for its earnings compared to many miners
• Dividend yield: 0.68%, fully franked, with dividends paid twice a year (most recently $0.05 per share final in October 2026 and $0.05 interim in April 2026)
• EPS: $0.630 per share
• Year to date return: 3.2%

Capricorn Metals also stands out for paying consistent, fully franked dividends—a rarity among local gold companies, even if the yield itself is modest.

The case for PDI Gold

PDI Gold Ltd, formerly Predictive Discovery, is a gold developer focused on West Africa. The flagship Bankan Gold Project in Guinea positions it as a major player in the region. Following its late 2025 merger with Robex Resources, PDI now controls a combination of two of the largest gold developments in West Africa. This gives it a substantial footprint and exposure to a region that’s seen strong recent interest from global gold investors.

Here are the highlights from the current fundamentals:

• Market capitalisation: $4.42 billion
• P/E ratio: Not applicable (the company is not yet profitable, with earnings per share at -$0.110)
• No dividends paid to date
• Shares outstanding: 988.17 million
• Year to date return: 21.6%

What really leaps out is PDI’s explosive recent performance—the share price has surged over 21% so far this year. While it’s still firmly in the development and exploration stage with no profits or dividends, investors have clearly been backing its growth story, especially after the transformative Robex merger.

Valuation comparison

With both companies operating in the gold space but at different stages, a few contrasting points stand out:

Metric	Capricorn Metals	PDI Gold
Market Cap	$6.74 billion	$4.42 billion
P/E Ratio	23.39	N/A (loss-making)
EPS	$0.630	-$0.110
Dividend Yield	0.68% (fully franked)	0.00%
YTD Return	3.2%	21.6%

Capricorn is a profitable, dividend-paying producer with a moderate earnings multiple. PDI, by contrast, is a larger-scale explorer and developer with no profits (so no P/E ratio or dividends), but its bigger market cap reflects market optimism about future cash flows. Note: PDI Gold’s lack of a P/E or earnings yield is simply because it’s not profitable yet. Both operate in gold, but investors are paying for current profit in Capricorn and for future growth in PDI.

Recent share price momentum

Comparing recent share price performance up to 9 October 2026:

• Capricorn Metals closed at $14.74 on 9 October 2026, up 1.4% for the day but only up 3.2% for the year to date. The last month saw a few sharp swings but overall a fairly flat trend.
• PDI Gold closed at $4.47 on 9 October 2026. It’s delivered a stunning 21.6% year-to-date return, with several recent upswings—especially after the Robex merger hype. The price is holding high after a stretch of volatility.

Both companies have seen volatility, but PDI Gold has handsomely outperformed Capricorn Metals so far in 2026.

Which is the better buy?

If I had to pick just one for more upside from here, I’d lean toward PDI Gold. The company has already run hot in 2026, and while that adds risk, I think its combination with Robex and focus on a major African resource hub puts it in a structural growth sweet spot. There are clear risks—no profit or dividend yet, and gold mine development in West Africa carries geopolitical and project execution complexity. But the market is backing PDI as an emerging powerhouse, and momentum is clear. By contrast, Capricorn Metals looks like the safer, steadier choice—it’s profitable, already producing, and pays fully franked dividends. But its muted recent performance and richer P/E make me think the biggest gains may have already been captured for now. For investors with the stomach for more volatility and who want exposure to the next big gold story, my pick would be PDI Gold.

The post Capricorn Metals vs PDI Gold: Which high-flying ASX gold stock has more upside left? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial draft. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

Investors on the lookout for big returns might want to check out the two shares below that feature on the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO).

That’s because the team at Bell Potter has just recommended them to clients and is predicting returns of 16% to 38% over the next 12 months.

GenusPlus Group Ltd (ASX: GNP)

Bell Potter sees a lot of value in this Australian infrastructure services provider’s shares.

The broker was pleased with news that GenusPlus is acquiring Universal Communications Group Holdings. It highlights that the deal adds scale and capability to its telecommunication services offering, including network maintenance.

It also expects it to be immediately earnings accretive and provide a platform to drive further growth in New Zealand across telecommunications and other critical infrastructure markets.

In response, the broker has retained its buy rating and $12.80 price target on the ASX 300 share.

Based on its current share price and including dividends, this represents a total potential return of 38% for investors.

Commenting on its recommendation, Bell Potter said:

We view the UCG deal as strategic. The UCG acquisition will fast-track GNP’s multimarket growth strategy across the Communications, Transmission, Wind, Rail and Gas sectors. The UCG acquisition also provides a platform to extend GNP’s existing construction and maintenance capabilities in New Zealand.

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Ltd (ASX: SXE)

Another ASX 300 share that has been given the thumbs up is Southern Cross Electrical Engineering.

It is a leading Australian national provider of specialised electrical, instrumentation, communications, security, fire, and maintenance services.

Bell Potter notes that it has also announced an acquisition this month. Southern Cross Electrical Engineering has agreed to buy Entire Operations, which is a Melbourne-based provider of integrated fire protection and mechanical (HVAC) services.

The broker has boosted its earnings estimates for FY 2027-2029 to reflect the deal and has lifted its valuation accordingly.

According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating on the ASX 300 share with an improved price target of $5.70.

Based on its current share price and including dividends, this would mean a total return of around 16% for investors over the next 12 months.

Speaking about the acquisition, Bell Potter said:

The acquisition of Entire ticks a lot of boxes and mirrors SXE’s prior acquisition playbook. Firstly, Entire expands SXE’s existing fire suppression market exposure and extends skillsets into a new market, HVAC, which is underpinned by structural tailwinds already benefiting the Group. 

Secondly, the deal valuation and EPS accretion is attractive and underpins the FY27 guidance upgrade. Lastly, fire suppression and HVAC are complementary adjacent service offerings to SXE’s core electrical capabilities.

The post 2 ASX 300 shares tipped by brokers to return 16% to 38% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended GenusPlus Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended GenusPlus Group and Southern Cross Electrical Engineering. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price has been a strong performer within the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the past year, rising by 28%, as the chart below shows.

Rio Tinto is involved with a number of commodities including iron ore, copper, aluminium, bauxite and lithium. Not many miners around the world have as much commodity diversification as Rio Tinto.

The ASX mining share may be best known as an Australian iron ore miner, but there’s a lot more to the business now. I think that makes it a much more appealing business than it was several years ago.

For me, there are at least three compelling reasons to consider the business.

Growing copper exposure

Iron ore prices can be volatile and don’t seem to have a strong outlook at present because of headwinds for both supply and demand. Non-Australian regions are looking to increase iron ore production (supply), and the huge Chinese residential construction boom isn’t happening these days (demand).

Rio Tinto has deliberately and significantly increased its exposure to copper with a number of projects. Copper is essential for a number of growth areas such as electricity grids, renewable energy, electric vehicles and so on.

One of the company’s key growth projects is Oyu Tolgoi, a huge copper operation in Mongolia. At peak production, Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 500,000 tonnes per annum of copper.

I think the 2026 half-year result strongly demonstrated the copper division’s performance. The sold copper price increased by 35.5%, while copper operating earnings (EBITDA) soared by 84% to US$5.7 billion. I’m not expecting every result to see that much growth.

Lithium mining

I think it was a smart move by Rio Tinto to acquire Arcadium Lithium a couple of years ago, at a time when the sector was facing significant pessimism.

Its exposure to lithium now looks very appealing, with how the lithium price has rebounded, and electric vehicle demand has increased following the fuel uncertainty because of the Middle East.

The company is not generating a lot of earnings from this division because it’s still developing its projects. But in the first half of FY26, the average realised lithium carbonate price rose 22% to US$18,960, segment revenue rose 84% to US$568 million, and underlying operating profit (EBITDA) rose 419% to US$218 million.

If lithium battery demand continues to grow, predominantly due to electric vehicles, then this division could become a meaningful contributor in the coming years.

African iron ore

It’s possible that Australian iron ore may lose some of its strategic significance in the coming years.

Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) recently highlighted that there are ongoing negotiations with China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG), a key buyer of iron ore. It could become harder to get a great price for Australian iron ore.

Meanwhile, Rio Tinto is working on a huge African iron ore project called Simandou. The fact that it’s in partnership with Chinese operators (and the Government of Guinea) hopefully bodes well for the future realised (sold) iron ore price.

The scale of this project could mean significant production and appealing profit margins. I think it’s a good idea to diversify away from Australian ore.

Overall, I believe the three factors above could lead to strong profits and good dividends, making Rio Tinto’s share price appealing.

The post 3 reasons why the Rio Tinto share price could be a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Down 29% so far in 2026: What do brokers tip next for Fortescue shares?
• Fortescue vs Rio Tinto: Which ASX mining giant is the better buy today?
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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.