Silver just had one of its best years in decades in 2025. Yet one of Canada’s best-known silver producers is sitting far below its record high. This gap between a hot commodity and a beaten-down stock is where patient investors tend to find the best opportunities.
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Why First Majestic Silver stock is down 44% in 2026
First Majestic Silver (TSX: AG) is one of the purest silver plays on the TSX.
The Vancouver-based miner runs four underground mines in Mexico, is restarting the Jerritt Canyon gold mine in Nevada, and even owns its own mint in Las Vegas, something no other major mining company does.
The Canadian mining stock soared to an all-time high of almost $44 in early 2026. At the time of writing, it is trading below $25. The Canadian dividend stock has a beta above four, meaning it tends to move about four times as much as the broader market in either direction.
Silver mining stocks often outperform during commodity upcycles and underperform when prices are falling. For long-term investors bullish on silver, ongoing volatility can be an attractive buying opportunity.
Is this Canadian dividend stock a good buy?
In the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, First Majestic reported revenue of $477 million, an increase of 95% year over year, as average silver prices more than doubled to US$86.35 an ounce. The company’s per-ounce margins rose to US$52 an ounce in Q1, up from US$13 an ounce in the year-ago period.
The Canadian miner reported an operating cash flow of $311 million and a free cash flow of $224 million in Q1. Valued at a market cap of $11.9 billion, First Majestic is projected to increase its free cash flow to almost $1 billion in 2027.
That cash generation has left First Majestic with a treasury of more than $1.1 billion, giving it ample flexibility to fund growth projects at its Santa Elena and Los Gatos mines, restart Jerritt Canyon, and continue exploring. The company plans to drill more than 300,000 metres across its properties in 2026.
A dividend built for the long haul
First Majestic raised its payout to $0.0171 per share for shareholders of record on May 15, its largest dividend ever and about four times last year’s payment.
Management also changed its dividend policy at the start of 2026, doubling the portion of operating cash flow allocated to shareholders from 1% to 2%.
The yield is marginal at 0.2%. However, the TSX dividend stock trades at a 60% discount to consensus price targets in July 2026. Moreover, analysts forecast the annual dividend to increase to $0.10 per share by 2028.
Analysts point to a persistent global silver supply deficit, recently estimated at around 150 million ounces, roughly 10 times First Majestic’s annual production.
New demand sources such as AI data centres, which management says consume several tonnes of silver each on average, are adding pressure to an already tight market.
Combine that long-term tailwind with a fortress balance sheet, expanding mines, a restart at Jerritt Canyon targeted for the second half of 2027, and a dividend that management is actively growing, and the case for holding First Majestic stock is much easier to make.
