(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — We live in a low-trust society at the moment. For people who watch cable news on TV each night or spend their days scrolling through social media, it feels as though we’re at a breaking point — like it can’t get any worse before irreparable damage is done. Mainstream politicians are openly discussing a “national divorce.” Half the country believes the president is undermining our democracy and using the White House to make his family billions of dollars in crypto schemes and international real estate deals. The other half believes their children are being indoctrinated by Marxists at school, while immigrants flood into our country to threaten our safety. We’re barely talking to each other anymore or looking for solutions. Each side is so convinced of the righteousness of its own perspective that even a conversation with our dissenters is couched as a sort of treachery or betrayal to “the cause.” The poisonous ecology of the Internet Age, where rage equals engagement equals profitability, has led to the politicization of everything. Our public figures are told to choose and then pledge allegiance to all of the beliefs of their chosen side. Even Cracker Barrel had to declare. This has splintered popular culture to the point where we aren’t even seeing the same movies or listening to the same music. We’re losing more of what unites us with every passing day. The ferocity of the rally in gold prices this year should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention to the conditions I describe above. Gold is the ultimate low-trust society asset. It has always been that way. Gold’s original use as a low-trust asset — a global currency if you will — dates back to the Silk Road. This was the first example of a global marketplace amongst millions of people speaking a thousand different languages. There was a lot of barter on the road from the Far East through the southern belt of Europe, but when a medium of exchange was needed that everyone understood the value of, that medium of exchange was gold. Coins, tokens, bits of scrap, it didn’t matter. Gold was a language everyone knew how to speak, regardless of where they came from or what they were offering in trade. It serves this role once again, as trust in currencies (and the governments who back them) erodes and prices in the real economy refuse to subside. This combination of distrust in the present and fear for the future are a fertile ground for demand for gold among consumers and investors. Gold prices have fallen off of their recent highs as the bull market spends some time consolidating its recent gains. You told everyone you were going to buy the dip. You swore it to yourself on a stack of bibles. This is the dip. It maybe gets worse or reverses like it never even happened. No one can say. Our Best Stocks in the Market list features a handful of miners. They pulled back with gold prices as well. So long as the price of the metal remains elevated relative to the prior few years, profits should be strong for these businesses throughout 2026. They’re even getting assistance from low oil and gas prices, one of the key cost inputs if you’re running a mining operation. I think the group can keep working. Let’s talk about it. Here’s Sean … Sean — We published our thoughts on SCCO, AU and NEM on Oct. 16 , the price of gold closed at $4,304 that day. Price peaked the following Monday at $4,359 before falling to $4,013 through last Friday, down just under 8% from all time highs. During that price decline, gold had its worst single day since August 2020. This sent everything tied to gold tumbling, an inverse Midas touch. The XME has fallen 11% from its mid-October peak, while AU is down 13% and NEM has dropped 18% from its record highs. This is the inherent risk (and leverage) when investing in commodity-driven companies. In our piece on the gold miners, we noted some of the fundamentals and narratives driving the price move. Central bank demand around the world is growing. Dollar weakness is another big one. That demand is translating to earnings for these miners. AU expects 157% EPS growth this year and reports earnings on Thursday this week. SCCO beat on top and bottom lines last week, reporting 9% year over year operating earnings growth. NEM reported solid earnings too, with record free cash flow and an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) to mine gold of $1,566/oz. While the price has cooled down, the fundamentals are still intact. Following our normal Monday data drop, Josh will check in on the technicals for these miners below. Note: Earnings data above via Quartr. Sector leaderboard As of Nov. 3, there are 189 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top sector ranking: Top industries: Top 5 best stocks by relative strength: Spotlight: Josh: Southern Copper was going parabolic when we first wrote it up, so we laid off. That’s being corrected right now through a shallow but orderly pullback post-earnings. I think $125 should hold as support absent any kind of big correction for the metals prices themselves. It might be too cute, but I would probably let it gradually fall into that support level before pulling the trigger as a long. Anglogold Ashanti pulled back into rising support at the 50-day and the buyers appear to be coming in. It may need some time below last week’s gap as sellers are cleaned up, but ultimately I think it resolves higher. Newmont is the name most large cap growth managers will reach for should gold prices themselves resume their upward trajectory. It’s the “blue chip” in an industry that hasn’t exactly been celebrated for management quality or shareholder value creation over the years. NEM is now in an 18% drawdown. It’s still up over 110% this year. If you wanted to bet on an increase in not only mining profitability in 2026 but continued societal trust issues, this is the one to do it with. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. 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