VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF

GDXJ

Market cap $9.3B

Wall Street excels at creating catch phrases. The latest one is the “debasement trade.

Gold stocks and ETFs sold off Tuesday as gold prices retreated more than 5% following a huge run to record levels.

In 2025, gold has felt like one of the most unstoppable assets in financial markets. The yellow metal has been reaching new all-time highs repeatedly.

Every market transition begins in silence. Before the headlines catch on, before analysts start revising their models, and before CNBC runs the segment titled "Is Silver Back?

Not every dividend ETF you buy needs to be boring.

Gold surges 41% YTD and hits records as Fed cuts rates, dollar displays weakness and ETF inflows fuel demand, bringing GLD, IAU, SGDM and more into the spotlight.

Gold mining ETFs -- GOEX, AUMI, SGDJ and GDXJ -- are hovering around 52-week highs, fueled by gold's safe-haven demand, central bank buying and a weaker dollar.

After a decade-long gold bull market, sentiment is euphoric, and GDXJ is now a speculation with a poor risk-reward profile. GDXJ's top holdings are cyclical mining companies with erratic cash flows, heavy share dilution, and trade at premium valuations. Despite gold's rise, GDXJ remains below its 2011 highs due to massive shareholder dilution and weak fundamentals in its holdings.

GDXJ offers diversified exposure to mid-cap and smaller gold miners, outperforming gold and broader markets in 2025 with strong returns. Gold miners are benefiting from record-high gold prices, robust free cash flow, and shareholder returns via dividends and buybacks. Despite strong fundamentals, GDXJ has seen significant investment outflows, suggesting the bull market is still early and not euphoric.

Gold has been on a powerful upward trajectory this year, fueled by strong safe-haven demand amid Trump's tariff chaos and escalating geopolitical tensions, weakening U.S. dollar and growing expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. The yellow metal has posted monthly gains for five straight months as of May, its longest run since 2017.