Nickel stocks are shares of companies involved in producing, refining, or trading nickel, a metal with growing importance across global manufacturing. Nickel is best known as a key ingredient in stainless steel, but it’s also used in electroplating, semiconductors, and rechargeable batteries.
After surging in the years following the COVID-19 lockdowns, nickel prices fell sharply in early 2025, briefly hitting a five-year low before stabilizing later in the year. Even so, nickel’s role in high-growth industries, particularly electric vehicles, continues to attract long-term investor interest. EV batteries rely heavily on nickel-rich cathodes, making future demand closely tied to the pace of electrification.
That combination of cyclical pricing and long-term demand growth makes nickel stocks potentially attractive, but not without risk. Mining is capital-intensive, prices can be volatile, and geopolitical disruptions can affect supply. For investors willing to look beyond short-term swings, nickel stocks remain worth a closer look.
Top nickel stocks to consider in 2026
With those dynamics in mind, here are three nickel stocks that offer exposure to the metal and its long-term demand drivers:
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Dividend yield | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glencore Plc (OTC:GLNCY) | $83.1 billion | 1.41% | Metals and Mining |
| Vale (NYSE:VALE) | $72.6 billion | 0.85% | Metals and Mining |
| Eramet (OTC:ERMAY) | $2.3 billion | 1.97% | Metals and Mining |
1. Glencore
OTC: GLCNF
Key Data Points
Switzerland-based Glencore is a global metal mining giant. It’s involved with energy production, recycling, agricultural products, and mining assets. Its operations include copper and cobalt mines (another resource used in EV batteries) and, of course, nickel. Glencore is one of the world’s top producers of nickel, with mines in Canada, Norway, and Australia. The company projects nickel production of 74,000 metric tons to 80,000 metric tons for 2025.
For investors in the United States, bear in mind that Glencore is not directly listed on a U.S. stock exchange. Glencore is listed on the London Stock Exchange, but shares can be purchased in the U.S. over the counter (OTC). There are certain risks involved in owning shares of a company like this. Keep in mind that Glencore has not generated the same lofty profit margins as leading peers like BHP Group (BHP -0.76%), and the dividend hasn’t grown all that much over the past decade.
2. Vale
NYSE: VALE
Key Data Points
Vale is a Brazil-based mining conglomerate and one of the top metal miners. Nickel is one of Vale’s specialties. The company claims it’s the largest producer of nickel -- passing Russia’s Norilsk Nickel, which is currently dealing with sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine.
Vale has a long history as a top supplier, transporter, and refiner of metals such as nickel. For investors looking for exposure to this key ingredient in manufacturing and technology, its stock is worth considering. Vale is a cyclical business, but it generates healthy profit margins that are used to repurchase stock to boost shareholder value.
After producing about 153,000 metric tons of nickel in 2024, Vale projects 2025 nickel production of 175,000 metric tons and 1750,000 metric tons to 200,000 metric tons in 2026.
3. Eramet
OTC: ERMAY
Key Data Points
The smallest stock on this list based on market capitalization is Eramet, whose history stretches back to 1880. Eramet is a French company that has diversified mining operations including manganese, mineral sands, nickel, and lithium. In addition to nickel mining operations in New Caledonia, Eramet operates Weda Bay Nickel in Indonesia -- a project that Eramet characterizes as the world's largest nickel mine. Through the first nine months of 2025, Eramet increased nickel ore production 57% on a year-over-year basis at Weda Bay Nickel.
Nickel figures prominently in the company's financials. In the first half of 2025, Nickel provided free cash flow (FCF) of 23 million euros -- notably more lucrative than the company's mineral sands and lithium businesses, which produced negative FCF during the same period.
Advantages and risks of investing in nickel stocks
For investors interested in gaining nickel exposure, it's important to be cognizant of both the advantages and risks of an investment in the base metal.
Advantages
- Exposure to growth industries like EVs and semiconductors.
- Nickel stocks can help in portfolio diversification.
- The U.S. Geological Survey lists nickel as a critical mineral, so government policies should support its production.
- May provide a hedge against inflation.
Risks
- Nickel prices can be volatile.
- Nickel production projects can be capital-intensive.
- There may be local environmental regulations that preclude the development of nickel production projects.
Factors to consider when investing in nickel stocks
While some may recognize nickel as a compelling investment opportunity, it's essential for them to be aware of certain specific considerations. First, when conducting your due diligence, you'll want to assess the company's net debt-to-earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) ratio. Mining is a capital-intensive business, and it can take years (and millions of dollars) for companies to identify a mineral resource and then bring a mining project to the production phase. Some companies, consequently, find themselves weighing down their balance sheets in pursuit of developing these projects, so gauging the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio provides insight into whether the companies are relying heavily on leverage.
Of course, monitoring the company's success in replenishing its nickel resources is also critical. A nickel company's future is hardly lustrous if it's not committing capital to growth projects that will ensure it can continue producing the base metal in the coming years.
How to invest in nickel stocks
For investors interested in gaining nickel exposure, there are a few basic steps they must take.
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Nickel mining stocks are cyclical
There is a lot of promise for nickel stocks with the metal’s use in semiconductors, EV batteries, and other technology advances in the decade ahead. But bear in mind that this is a highly cyclical sector of the economy. Commodity prices are sensitive to supply and demand, and mining stock prices can be incredibly volatile and unpredictable.
Even so, demand for nickel and other metals isn’t going away. For investors who want to bet on base materials used in today’s leading tech and get dividends along the way, there’s a lot to like about nickel stocks right now.
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