Investing

Copper outlook for 2026

Market watchers expect many of the forces that drove copper through 2025 to persist.

Supply constraints are expected to remain acute this year as aging mines and capacity shortfalls weigh on availability. New projects such as Arizona Sonoran Copper Company’s (TSX:ASCU,OTCQX:ASCUF) Cactus project and the long‑anticipated Resolution mine in the US are still years from significant output.

Copper demand is projected to grow as the global energy transition accelerates.

“A huge amount of this tightness has to do with US tariff concerns,” she said.

China, the world’s largest copper consumer, is also shaping the outlook. Despite weakness in its property sector, the country posted economic growth and is expected to prioritize copper‑intensive sectors under its new five year plan.

Longer‑term projections from industry groups suggest structural demand growth will outpace supply additions.

A UN report estimates that copper demand could rise 40 percent by 2040, requiring substantial investment and new mines just to keep pace. Likewise, Wood Mackenzie forecasts that copper demand will increase 24 percent by 2035, while the International Copper Study Group predicts a refined copper deficit of 150,000 metric tons in 2026 alone.

1. Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)

Year-over-year gain: 143.8 percent
Market cap: US$10.87 billion
Share price: US$72.14

Avidity Bioscience is a biopharma firm developing a new form of RNA therapy called antibody oligonucleotide conjugates (AOC) that target the genes causing rare muscle diseases.

Through its proprietary AOC platform, Avidity developed programs for three rare muscle diseases: AOC 1001 for myotonic dystrophy type 1, AOC 1044 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and AOC 1020 for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. The company is also working to expand its pipeline into cardiology and immunology.

In October 2025, Avidity entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Novartis (NYSE:NVS), which will include the company’s late-stage neuromuscular programs (AOC 1001, 1020, 1044) and the AOC platform, for US$12 billion.

Avidity’s early-stage precision cardiology programs will spin off into a new public company prior to closing in H1 2026. The spin-off will also have rights to use and develop the AOC platform for cardiology applications.

2. Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE)

Year-over-year gain: 36.52 percent
Market cap: US$3.13 billion
Share price: US$17.12

Wave Life Sciences is another clinical-stage firm focused on unlocking insights from human genetics to deliver RNA-based medicines. The company’s PRISM platform is targeting both rare and prevalent disorders. Its pipeline includes clinical programs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and Huntington’s disease, as well as a preclinical program for WVE-007 in obesity.

Wave Life Sciences advanced its PRISM RNA platform across multiple programs in 2025. It is also performing a Phase 1 trial testing its WVE-007 obesity candidate, which is an investigational INHBE GalNAc-siRNA using Wave’s proprietary SpiNA design.

In December, the company reported positive interim data from the WVE-007 trial, which showed that a single dose resulted in sustained Activin E reduction, supporting infrequent dosing. Target engagement updates and body composition readouts are planned for Q1 2026.

3. UniQure (NASDAQ:QURE)

Year-over-year gain: 33.15 percent
Market cap: US$1.47 billion
Share price: US$23.86

UniQure is a gene therapy company focused on patients with severe medical needs. In November 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company’s gene therapy Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec), which is the world’s first gene therapy for hemophilia B.

Today, uniQure’s proprietary gene therapy pipeline includes treatments for patients with Huntington’s disease, refractory temporal lobe epilepsy, ALS and Fabry disease.

Its gene therapy pipeline advanced in 2025, with positive Phase I/II topline data for Huntington’s disease candidate AMT-130 showing 75 percent slowing of disease progression at three years via cUHDRS, alongside 60 percent functional capacity preservation.

While data from the Phase I/II study led the FDA to grant AMT-130 breakthrough therapy designation in April, in December the agency told UniQure it believes the data may not be adequate to support a pre-biologics license application under the accelerated approval pathway. The company is pursuing a follow-up meeting.

4. Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK)

Year-over-year gain: 186.96 percent
Market cap: US$1.81 billion
Share price: US$31.74

Stoke Therapeutics is another biotech company with a focus on developing RNA medicine. With its proprietary research platform TANGO, which stands for targeted augmentation of nuclear gene output, the company is developing antisense oligonucleotides to selectively restore protein levels.

Stoke’s first product candidate, zorevunersen (STK-001), is in clinical testing for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a severe form of genetic epilepsy. The company is also developing STK-002 for the treatment of autosomal dominant optic atrophy, an inherited optic nerve disorder.

Both candidates advanced in 2025, with STK-001 enrolling patients in Phase 3 after positive long-term data showed seizure reductions and cognitive gains. Likewise, STK-002’s clinical development program is being informed by results, presented in October, of a Phase 1 two year natural history study on the disease progression of autosomal dominant optic atrophy.

1. MDxHealth (NASDAQ:MDXH)

Year-on-year gain: 50.86 percent
Market cap: US$173.24 million
Share price: US$3.50

MDxHealth is a commercial-stage precision diagnostics company specializing in molecular tests for urologic cancers, particularly prostate cancer, using genomic, epigenetic and exosomal technologies. Its US headquarters and operations are located in Irvine, California.

The company offers non-invasive and tissue-based diagnostic assays that run on standard PCR platforms.

In September, MDxHealth acquired Exosome Diagnostics from Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) for US$15 million, adding the ExoDx Prostate urine test to its portfolio. The deal also includes a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory and related assets. The deal is expected to generate over US$20 million in revenue in 2026.

2. KORU Medical Systems (NASDAQ:KRMD)

Year-on-year gain: 50.13 percent
Market cap: US$269.6 million
Share price: US$5.82

KORU Medical Systems develops and manufactures medical devices and supplies in the US and internationally, with a focus on mechanical infusion products. Its Freedom Syringe Infusion System first received FDA clearance in 1994.

Based on this system, its primary products include the Freedom60 and FreedomEdge syringe infusion systems, Precision Flow Rate Tubing and High-Flo Subcutaneous Safety Needle Sets.

KORU Medical Systems submitted a 510(k) premarket notification to the FDA on December 30, 2025, seeking clearance for its FreedomEdge system to deliver Phesgo — a HER2+ breast cancer targeted biologic — subcutaneously, targeting infusion centers to cut chair time and boost efficiency.

The company stated this is part of its strategy to expand the indications of FreedomEdge to the wider oncology infusion center market.

3. Vivani Medical (NASDAQ:VANI)

Year-on-year gain: 1.71 percent
Market cap: US$86.81 million
Share price: US$1.19

Vivani Medical is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing miniature, long-term subdermal drug implants using its proprietary NanoPortal technology to treat chronic conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Headquartered in Alameda, California, Vivani focuses on GLP-1 implants that provide steady drug release over six months to improve adherence and tolerability compared to daily pills or weekly injections.

In August, Vivani Medical reported positive Phase 1 results from its LIBERATE-1 trial of the NPM-115 exenatide implant, confirming safety and steady drug release for obesity treatment without major side effects.

The company plans to rapidly advance its NPM-139 semaglutide implant after it achieved preclinical results of sustained 20 percent weight loss. It is planning a Phase 1 clinical study in the first half of 2026.

European cannabis legalization and international growth

2025 brought incremental legalization or medical frameworks in multiple jurisdictions, including Czechia, Malta, Poland, Switzerland and Luxembourg, broadening the investable global footprint.

This continental momentum has directly boosted North American producers through export ramps and licensing deals, with Canadian licensed producers capturing 43 percent of Germany’s Q2 imports alone.

The country’s CanG framework and adult‑use reform, which came into effect in April 2024, have made it Europe’s most important legal market, with 2025 medical sales expected to see explosive year-on-year growth.

Investor takeaway

2025 marked a transformative year for cannabis, with regulatory breakthroughs and market maturation set against the backdrop of volatility. Trump’s execuctive order has brought new life into the sector in the US with the promise of not only banking and tax relief, but also bipartisan momentum for normalization; however, investors remain cautious.

“Everybody is waiting for it to be real and for it to be completed. Because even though we think the executive order was huge … nothing’s complete yet. Nothing’s official yet,” explained Ahrens.

Looking to 2026, he emphasized that the path forward for cannabis isn’t a straight line, but rather a series of volatile ‘waves’ tied to incremental regulatory milestones. Ahrens anticipates that while the finalization of Schedule III should trigger an initial move, it is merely the first domino; subsequent upside depends on the DoJ providing clear guidance for state-legal adult-use programs and the eventual passage of banking reform.

While he does foresee cannabis stocks uplisting to major exchanges, and Big Pharma companies beginning to make acquisitions in the space, Ahrens remains cautious about timing, noting that even with a signed order, large institutional banks will likely keep the ‘blockade’ in place until the legal ink is truly dry.

Ultimately, while 2025’s executive action has established a concrete foundation for federal reform in the US, the cannabis sector remains poised in a state of high-stakes volatility, with its full maturation dependent on official completion of milestones in 2026 and beyond.

1. Stria Lithium (TSXV:SRA)

Year-to-date gain: 708.33 percent
Market cap: C$19.11 million
Share price: C$0.48

Stria Lithium is a Canadian exploration company focused on developing domestic lithium resources to support the growing demand for electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries. The company’s flagship Pontax Central lithium project spans 36 square kilometers in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Québec, Canada.

Cygnus Metals (TSXV:CYG,ASX:CY5,OTCQB:CYGGF) has an earn-in agreement with Stria to earn up to a 70 percent interest in Pontax Central. Cygnus completed the first stage in July 2023, acquiring a 51 percent interest by investing C$4 million in exploration and issuing over 9 million shares to Stria.

In May 2025, Stria and Cygnus agreed to extend the second stage of Cygnus’s earn-in agreement on the Pontax Central lithium project by 24 months. The second stage involves a further C$2 million in exploration spending and C$3 million in a cash payment.

Through its joint venture with Cygnus, Stria has outlined a JORC-compliant maiden inferred resource for Pontax Central of 10.1 million metric tons grading 1.04 percent lithium oxide.

In March, Stria closed a non-brokered private placement for C$650,000. The funds will be used in part for the evaluation of new mineral opportunities, according to the company.

Shares of Stria registered a year-to-date high of C$0.50 on December 30, 2025, coinciding with lithium carbonate prices rising to a near 24 month high.

2. Consolidated Lithium Metals (TSXV:CLM)

Year-to-date gain: 350 percent
Market cap: C$20.51 million
Share price: C$0.045

Consolidated Lithium Metals is focused on acquiring, developing and advancing lithium projects in Québec. Its properties — Vallée, Baillargé, Preissac-LaCorne and Duval — are located within the spodumene-rich La Corne Batholith area, near the restarted North American Lithium mine, a key area in Canada’s growing lithium sector.

Consolidated Lithium started the year with a C$300 million private placement earmarked for working capital and general corporate purposes.

In July, the company commenced a summer exploration program at the Preissac project, excavating a 100 by 30 meter trench in an area with a known lithium soil anomaly, uncovering an 18 meter wide pegmatite body at surface.

At the end of August, Consolidated Lithium signed a non-binding letter of intent with SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Québec, to acquire an option to earn up to an 80 percent interest in the Kwyjibo rare earths project.

The project is located roughly 125 kilometers northeast of Sept-Îles in Québec’s Côte-Nord region.

Under the deal, which was finalized in November, Consolidated Lithium will become operator of the project and can earn an initial 60 percent stake over five years through a combined C$23.15 million in cash payments, share issuances and project expenditures.

A significant portion of those funds will be invested in advancing Kwyjibo through stages including negotiating and finalizing an agreement with the Innu of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, a metallurgical study and environmental permitting.

Upon completion, the partners will form a joint venture, and Consolidated will have the option to increase its interest to 80 percent by investing C$22 million over a further three years.

An uptick in lithium prices in October helped Consolidated shares rally to a year-to-date high of C$0.06 several times between October 22 and November 3.

3. Lithium South Development (TSXV:LIS)

Year-to-date gain: 330 percent
Market cap: C$48.76 million
Share price: C$0.43

Canada-based Lithium South Development currently owns 100 percent of the HMN lithium project in Argentina’s Salta and Catamarca provinces, situated in the heart of the lithium-rich Hombre Muerto Salar.

The project lies adjacent to South Korean company POSCO Holdings’ (NYSE:PKX,KRX:005490) billion-dollar lithium development to the east.

Exploration has defined a resource of 1.58 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 736 milligrams per liter lithium, with the majority in the measured category. A preliminary economic assessment outlines the potential for a 15,600 metric ton per year lithium carbonate operation.

In January 2024, Lithium South and POSCO signed an agreement to jointly develop the HMN lithium project. Under the deal, the companies will share production 50/50 from the Norma Edith and Viamonte blocks in Salta and Catamarca, resolving overlapping claims.

As for 2025, in June Lithium South’s shares tripled to C$0.30 after it received positive news regarding its environmental impact assessment.

Lithium South shared a huge update in July that changed its trajectory; the company received a non-binding cash offer of US$62 million from POSCO to purchase its lithium portfolio, including the HMN project.

POSCO would acquire Lithium South’s wholly owned subsidiary NRG Metals Argentina, which holds the HMN project and all of Lithium South’s other concessions, namely the Sophia I–III and Hydra X–XI claims.

The 60 day due diligence period concluded in late September, and on November 12, Lithium South announced a share purchase agreement to sell its Argentinian lithium portfolio to POSCO Argentina for US$65 million.

Company shares climbed to C$0.44 the next day, while its highest close of the year, C$0.45, came on December 24.

Lithium South officially signed the deal on December 8, with its closing subject to several approvals. Following the transaction’s completion, Lithium South plans to de-list from the TSXV and begin dissolution proceedings.

In connection with the news, the company intends to buy back all common shares at a price of C$0.505.

4. Standard Lithium (TSXV:SLI)

Year-to-date gain: 190 percent
Market cap: C$1.47 billion
Share price: C$6.15

Standard Lithium is a US-focused lithium development company advancing a portfolio of high-grade lithium brine projects with an emphasis on sustainability and commercial-scale production.

The company employs a fully integrated direct lithium extraction process and is developing its flagship Smackover Formation assets in Arkansas and Texas, including the South West Arkansas project. The projects are a partnership with Equinor ASA, under the 55/45 joint venture subsidiary Smackover Lithium.

In April, its South West Arkansas project was one of 10 US critical minerals projects designated for fast tracking under FAST-41.

On September 3, Standard Lithium reported results of its definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the South West Arkansas project. The DFS notes an initial capacity of 22,500 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate, with first production targeted for 2028. The study outlines an operating life of over 20 years based on average lithium concentrations of 481 milligrams per liter, supported by detailed resource and reserve modeling. The company filed the DFS on October 14.

In late October, Standard Lithium reported the unanimous approval of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission for the company’s Integration Application for the project’s Reynolds brine unit, which is where the initial commercial phase of production is planned.

Standard is also actively exploring additional lithium brine opportunities in East Texas through the joint venture, and in November, Smackover Lithium filed the maiden inferred resource report for the Franklin project. The report highlights 2.16 million metric tons of LCE, 15.41 million metric tons of potash and 2.64 million metric tons of bromide contained in 0.61 square kilometers of brine volume.

The resource stands at an average lithium grade of 668 milligrams per liter, including a grade of 806 milligrams per liter at the Pine Forest 1 well, which the company states is North American’s highest concentration of lithium-in-brine.

The project covers roughly 80,000 acres, with 46,000 acres leased, and is poised to become the first phase in a broader East Texas expansion. Smackover Lithium ultimately aims to produce over 100,000 metric tons of lithium chemicals annually from its Texas operations.

On October 20, Standard closed a US$130 million underwritten public offering for 29,885,057 common shares, which will fund capital expenditures at the South West Arkansas project and the Franklin project.

Standard and Equinor ended the year advancing project financing for its South West Arkansas project, targeting up to US$1.1 billion in senior secured debt. The company has received over US$1 billion in combined interest from major export credit agencies, including the US EXIM Bank and Norway’s Eksfin.

The potential funds, alongside a US$225 million grant from the US Department of Energy, would support Phase 1 construction, which has an estimated US$1.45 billion in capital expenditures, FEED and feasibility study costs, and typical financing contingencies.

After climbing steeply starting in late September, the company’s shares hit a year-to-date high of C$7.64 on October 16.

5. Q2 Metals (TSXV:QTWO)

Year-to-date gain: 144.87 percent
Market cap: C$363.79 million
Share price: C$1.97

Exploration firm Q2 Metals is exploring three lithium properties — Cisco, Mia and Stellar — in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Québec, Canada. Contained within the portfolio is the Mia trend, which spans over 10 kilometers, while the Stellar lithium property comprises 77 claims and located 6 kilometers north of the Mia property.

In 2024, Q2 Metals acquired Cisco lithium property and spent the rest of the year exploring the area. The work led to Q2 acquiring a 100 percent interest in 545 additional mineral claims, tripling its land position at the Cisco lithium property.

A subsequent company update reported that metallurgical testing on drill core from its 2024 exploration work confirmed that spodumene is the primary lithium-bearing mineral within pegmatite at the project.

The company performed multiple drill campaigns in 2025, including a winter diamond drilling program. Over the course of the year, Q2 defined an exploration target and reported a series of positive results from test work and drilling at the project.

The most recent announcement, released December 3, singled out results from drill hole 44 as the ‘widest continuous spodumene pegmatite interval’ identified at the property. The hole intersected 457.4 meters of continuous mineralization with an average grade of 1.65 percent lithium oxide.

‘Drill hole 44 further showcases the Cisco project as a globally significant hard rock lithium discovery. The results to date will underpin the inaugural Mineral Resource Estimate, which we expect to announce in the first quarter of 2026, as we continue to advance Cisco,’ wrote Alicia Milne, president and CEO of Q2 Metals.

The company’s share price began climbing in late October following the news that it added Keith Phillips, CEO of Piedmont Lithium from 2017 to 2025, to its board of directors.

Propelled by the board addition and the drilling results results, shares of Q2 Metals ended 2025 on a high note, registering a year-to-date high of C$1.95 on December 30.