VanEck Merk Gold Trust
OUNZNYSEArcaUSD
- Source valuation snapshot. Not a live recalculation.
- Latest filed annual earnings; price snapshot date unavailable. Not forward P/E.
- Diluted earnings per share from the latest filed annual.
- $38.71 Prior regular-session close from the quote source.
- $38.26–$38.75 Regular-session low and high so far today.
- 422.3K Regular-session shares traded · Nov 11, 4:00 PM ET.
- Not yet confirmed The company has not confirmed its next report date. Reported quarters are available in the chart’s Earnings view.
- $37.18–$53.35 52-week trading low and high returned by the quote source.
Understand the Business
Why the Stock Moved
Period-matched expectations history is not yet available. Current metrics are not a substitute for a historical explanation.
The core investment thesis
Own OUNZ if OUNZ is a physically backed, in-kind gold ETF whose value and investor returns are driven almost entirely by the market price of allocated bullion and by investor demand for physical-delivery exposure to gold.
OUNZ price history
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Investment thesis
What must happen next
AUM (assets) growth will continue in a rising-gold environment because Authorized Participants can create Baskets in exchange for physical gold and investors seeking bullion exposure will prefer a fund that holds allocated bars and offers physical delivery.StrengtheningMateriality: High
assets rose from $786,090,962 at 2024-01-31 to $1,328,355,965 at 2025-01-31 and to $2,903,393,954 at 2026-01-31 (filings). If true, the Trust will capture and retain flows during gold rallies and scale advantages (liquidity, spreads) will persist; if false, AUM will be cyclical and vulnerable to outflows when gold corrects or competitors match features.
Watch: A sustained gold price decline or rapid rise in real yields that makes gold unattractive would reverse flows before assets grow further (demand shift).
Supporting sources
Source notes are factual paraphrases; read the original disclosures below.
assets rose from $786,090,962 at 2024-01-31 to $1,328,355,965 at 2025-01-31 and to $2,903,393,954 at 2026-01-31 (filings).
Open source ↗The Trust's reported net income and income volatility are driven by mark‑to‑market unrealized appreciation/depreciation of the physical gold it holds, not by active investment performance or security selection.StrengtheningMateriality: High
net_income increased from $313,148,132 for FY2025 to $1,092,864,123 for FY2026, coinciding with MD&A disclosure of $1,085,411,124 change in unrealized appreciation (mark‑to‑market). Earnings and 'profit' are a proxy for gold price moves; investors should judge the ETF by gold price and AUM trends rather than manager skill — unexpected income swings are not a failure of operations but reflect bullion prices.
Watch: If the Sponsor or Trustee begins active trading, derivatives, or futures (a change in stated passive structure), net income would reflect manager decisions rather than gold price (strategy shift).
Supporting sources
Source notes are factual paraphrases; read the original disclosures below.
net_income increased from $313,148,132 for FY2025 to $1,092,864,123 for FY2026, coinciding with MD&A disclosure of $1,085,411,124 change in unrealized appreciation.
Open source ↗The Trust runs with essentially no leverage or material short‑term liabilities (liabilities trivial vs assets), which limits operational and counterparty risk to investors beyond custody and counterparty custody exposure.StrengtheningMateriality: Medium
liabilities were $13,758,576 at 2025-01-31 and only $108,028 at 2026-01-31 while assets rose to $2,903,393,954, showing liabilities are tiny relative to assets. Low liabilities mean the primary loss vector is gold price movement or custody failure, not leverage or balance‑sheet risk; this makes downside predictable and tied to bullion rather than fund leverage.
Watch: Custodian insolvency, theft, or a legal seizure of gold would be a counterparty/custody event that liabilities don't capture and would breach this low‑risk assumption (custody failure).
Supporting sources
Source notes are factual paraphrases; read the original disclosures below.
liabilities were $13,758,576 at 2025-01-31 and only $108,028 at 2026-01-31 while assets rose to $2,903,393,954, showing liabilities are tiny relative.
Open source ↗
Full investment case & evidence
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Original research
AUM (assets) growth will continue in a rising-gold environment because Authorized Participants can create Baskets in exchange for physical gold and investors seeking bullion exposure will prefer a fund that holds allocated bars and offers physical delivery. If true, the Trust will capture and retain flows during gold rallies and scale advantages (liquidity, spreads) will persist; if false, AUM will be cyclical and vulnerable to outflows when gold corrects or competitors match features.
The Trust's reported net income and income volatility are driven by mark‑to‑market unrealized appreciation/depreciation of the physical gold it holds, not by active investment performance or security selection. Earnings and 'profit' are a proxy for gold price moves; investors should judge the ETF by gold price and AUM trends rather than manager skill — unexpected income swings are not a failure of operations but reflect bullion prices.
The Trust runs with essentially no leverage or material short‑term liabilities (liabilities trivial vs assets), which limits operational and counterparty risk to investors beyond custody and counterparty custody exposure. Low liabilities mean the primary loss vector is gold price movement or custody failure, not leverage or balance‑sheet risk; this makes downside predictable and tied to bullion rather than fund leverage.
All standing thesis claims
Original report summary
OUNZ is a physically backed, in-kind gold ETF whose value and investor returns are driven almost entirely by the market price of allocated bullion and by investor demand for physical-delivery exposure to gold.
Bull case and bear case
Bull case and bear case for VanEck Merk Gold ETF
Where the evidence on VanEck Merk Gold ETF stands: Strengthening on the latest evidence (Nov 7, 2026). Of its 3 thesis points, 3 strengthening.
Bull case: what the evidence supports
AUM (assets) growth will continue in a rising-gold environment because Authorized Participants can create Baskets in exchange for physical gold and investors seeking bullion exposure will prefer a fund that holds allocated bars and offers physical delivery.
The Trust's reported net income and income volatility are driven by mark‑to‑market unrealized appreciation/depreciation of the physical gold it holds, not by active investment performance or security selection.
The Trust runs with essentially no leverage or material short‑term liabilities (liabilities trivial vs assets), which limits operational and counterparty risk to investors beyond custody and counterparty custody exposure.
Bear case: what would count against it
A sustained gold price decline or rapid rise in real yields that makes gold unattractive would reverse flows before assets grow further (demand shift).
If the Sponsor or Trustee begins active trading, derivatives, or futures (a change in stated passive structure), net income would reflect manager decisions rather than gold price (strategy shift).
Custodian insolvency, theft, or a legal seizure of gold would be a counterparty/custody event that liabilities don't capture and would breach this low‑risk assumption (custody failure).
Thesis-Break Engine
Thesis-break watch · VanEck Merk Gold ETF
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MARKET + FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
The numbers behind the thesis
What Changed
No assessed change was returned in this research window. That can reflect a quiet period or a coverage limit.
Risks / falsifiers
What could break the thesis
- A sustained gold price decline or rapid rise in real yields that makes gold unattractive would reverse flows before assets grow further (demand shift).
- If the Sponsor or Trustee begins active trading, derivatives, or futures (a change in stated passive structure), net income would reflect manager decisions rather than gold price (strategy shift).
- Custodian insolvency, theft, or a legal seizure of gold would be a counterparty/custody event that liabilities don't capture and would breach this low‑risk assumption (custody failure).
OUNZ news
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Financial statements
OUNZ income statement
Annual filed results · USD · Oldest to newest. Margins are calculated from the reported figures.
OUNZ: quick answers
- What is OUNZ's short interest?
- As of October 30, 2026, 482,948 OUNZ shares were sold short, up 79.1% from the count before. At the stock's average daily volume that is 1.0 day to cover. FINRA publishes the count twice a month. OUNZ short interest history