NOVAGOLD (NG) Q3 2026 Earnings: EPS -$0.08, Equity Loss Up 222%
By Chad Hartman
Published · Last updated
NOVAGOLD (NG) reported no revenue for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended August 31, 2026, and a diluted loss of $0.08 per share against $0.04 a year earlier, in an 8-K release and 10-Q both filed October 8, 2026. The $36.0 million net loss looks like a cash drain, yet operating cash flow was an outflow of only $3.3 million, because the Donlin Gold funding that pays for the loss runs through investing activities. Donlin's equity loss rose 222% to $24.0 million, and the company raised its 2026 spending guidance by $11.5 million to about $110.0 million, all of it in corporate costs.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Company | NOVAGOLD ($NG) |
| Quarter | Q3 FY2026, period ended August 31, 2026 |
| Earnings release | October 8, 2026 (Form 8-K) |
| 10-Q filed | October 8, 2026 |
| Revenue | None reported (development-stage company) |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.08 (loss per share doubled from -$0.04) |
| Operating margin | n/a (no revenue) |
| Operating cash flow (TTM) | $-20.96 Million |
| Donlin Gold equity loss | $23.97 Million (+222% YoY) |
NOVAGOLD Q3 2026 Net Loss, EPS and Operating Loss
NOVAGOLD's Q3 2026 net loss was $36.0 million, up 130% from $15.6 million a year earlier, and its operating loss was the largest of the last 16 quarters. A company with no revenue and one asset would seem to have a loss that tracks head-office costs. At NOVAGOLD it tracks a partner's engineering budget.
The Data: Operating loss was $36.0 million against $13.7 million in Q3 2025 and $25.8 million in Q2. Of the $22.3 million increase, $16.5 million came from the equity loss on Donlin Gold ($24.0 million against $7.5 million) and $5.8 million from general and administrative expense ($12.0 million against $6.3 million). Interest income of $3.8 million, up from $1.2 million, offset part of it. Weighted shares rose 7.9% to 438.8 million, so the loss per share doubled while the net loss grew 130%.
Why: The equity loss is NOVAGOLD's 60% share of Donlin Gold's mineral property expenditures, $23.8 million this quarter per Note 5, as the Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) work accelerates. The release attributes the higher G&A to professional fees on the pending Donlin Gold transaction with Paulson. Had the share count stayed at last year's 406.5 million, the loss per share would have been about $0.09 instead of $0.08. The net loss was the second-largest of the last 16 quarters, so the overhead is not what moved it.
What NOVAGOLD's Q3 2026 10-Q Shows Beyond the Press Release
NOVAGOLD's Q3 2026 operating cash flow was an outflow of $3.3 million, against $0.9 million a year earlier. The release led with the $36.0 million loss and $343.4 million of cash and term deposits; the cash flow statement shows where the money left.
A reader who saw the $36.0 million loss would expect operating cash outflow of similar size. Instead the filing puts most of the cash in a different section.
The Data: Operating cash flow of -$3.3 million was the eighth-lowest of the last 16 quarters, an unremarkable rank beside the second-largest loss. Funding of Donlin Gold, $24.8 million, sits in investing activities. Over nine months the filing shows operating cash outflow of $14.9 million and $56.7 million of Donlin funding. The release itself puts net operational cash expenditures at $28.1 million, the $24.8 million plus $3.3 million of corporate costs. GeminIQ's pre-calculated Free Cash Flow was -$21.0 million over the trailing twelve months, a figure smaller than nine months of Donlin funding alone.
Why: Under the equity method described in Note 5, cash funding raises the carrying value of the Donlin investment, now $222.9 million, and Donlin's spending is then written off as the equity loss. The same dollars reach net loss and investing cash flow but never operating cash flow: Q3's equity loss was $24.0 million against $24.8 million of funding. That placement is standard for an equity-method holder, so the metric is not wrong; it measures only the corporate side of a company whose spending is mostly project-side.
NOVAGOLD 2026 Guidance, Cash and Barrick Note After Q3
In the 8-K, NOVAGOLD raised fiscal 2026 operating expenditure guidance by $11.5 million to approximately $110.0 million, from the $98.5 million it guided after Q2. Readers would take a raise during a BFS ramp as project spending creeping up. The raise sits elsewhere.
The Data: Guided Donlin Gold funding is unchanged at $78.8 million, while corporate G&A excluding share-based compensation rose to about $31.2 million from $19.7 million. The company says $7.7 million of the increase was incurred through Q3 and $3.8 million is expected in Q4, all tied to the Paulson transactions. Nine-month Donlin funding of $56.7 million is 72% of the $78.8 million with one quarter left. The balance sheet held $146.4 million of cash and $197.0 million of term deposits, and GeminIQ's Current Ratio was 44.51x against 26.91x a year earlier.
Why: The company attributes the raise to legal and professional fees and says it expects them to stay elevated into early fiscal 2027. It also says a portion of 2026 funding will relate to Donlin's 2027 budget, because December 2026 activities are pre-funded in November. The Barrick promissory note carried $177.5 million on August 31, against an option to prepay it in full for $100.0 million on or before December 3, 2026; management says it is fully funded to do so and to finish the BFS. Management also says it expects to raise additional capital later to support detailed engineering.
How NG Stock Has Moved After Past Earnings Reports
Across NOVAGOLD's last 12 10-Q filings with completed windows (filed October 3, 2023 to June 24, 2026), the median one-month return after filing was -3.9%, and it was positive after 5 of 12. These figures describe how NOVAGOLD's stock moved after its past filings; they are a historical association, not a forecast.
The Data: The one-month range ran from -25.2% to +49.0%, and the three-month median was +0.3% with 6 of 12 positive. Past Q3 filings were followed by one-month returns of +4.3% (FY2023), -14.3% (FY2024) and -15.7% (FY2025). This filing's window has not elapsed. The Earnings Reaction Heat Map shows each cell. On ownership, GeminIQ's 13F data put institutions at 74.86% on June 30, 2026, up 6.71 points from a year earlier and the second-highest of the last 16 quarters; the September 30 filings have not landed.
Why: A spread that wide around a near-zero median says the post-filing move depends little on the direction of the loss, which has been negative throughout. Form 4 filings dated February 6, 2025 to February 6, 2026 show five purchases totaling $50.3 million and one $115 sale, after a prior twelve months with neither. A buy-heavy record runs against the roughly 3:1 sell-to-buy base rate, though later filings are not yet in the data.
For a company that equity-accounts its only asset, the investing section holds the burn rate that the operating line leaves out.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does NOVAGOLD report earnings?
NOVAGOLD reported its Q3 FY2026 results on October 8, 2026, and filed the 10-Q the same day. Last year it filed its fourth-quarter results on January 22, 2026, and the year before on January 23, 2025. That is a filing pattern, not a forecast of the next date.
Does NOVAGOLD pay a dividend?
NOVAGOLD paid no dividend in the quarter ended August 31, 2026, and none over the trailing twelve months. The company has no revenue and funds its Donlin Gold share from cash raised through share offerings.
Is NOVAGOLD profitable?
NOVAGOLD is not profitable. It lost $36.0 million in Q3 FY2026 and $77.0 million over nine months, and GeminIQ's Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) was -25.97% on a trailing basis. Its balance sheet is liquid, with $349.8 million of current assets against $7.9 million of current liabilities.
What was NOVAGOLD's free cash flow in Q3 2026?
NOVAGOLD's Q3 FY2026 free cash flow was -$3.3 million, with no capital expenditure, and -$21.0 million over the trailing twelve months. Both figures exclude the $24.8 million the company funded to Donlin Gold, which the filing records in investing activities.
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All financial figures cited in this article reference NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC.'s Q3 2026 10-Q (filed October 8, 2026, period ending August 31, 2026), with guidance and management commentary drawn from the company's Form 8-K earnings release (filed October 8, 2026). All SEC filings are publicly available at SEC EDGAR and SEC EDGAR.
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