With the April jobs report showing a slowdown in hiring, the narrative for gold stocks to buy took a hit. That’s because a decelerating labor market is exactly what the Federal Reserve wants to see.

Nevertheless, monetary policy represents only one side of the picture. True, it’s a massive component. However, there are other factors that play into the rise of gold. In particular, the fear trade associated with escalating global tensions will likely buttress the yellow metal. Certainly, this matter only seems to be exacerbated.

Let’s also not forget that we’re talking about one month’s worth of data. Anything can happen over the course of an entire year. With that in mind, below are gold stocks to buy to beat the inflation bug.

Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM)

A specialist in the streaming business model, Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) isn’t directly involved in extracting metals from the earth. Rather, it provides mining enterprises with upfront capital. In exchange, Wheaton will take an agreed-upon cut of the metal production. In this manner, Wheaton provides its investors with superior pricing predictability.

For the current fiscal year, covering experts anticipate earnings per share to reach $1.17. That’s a penny below last year’s result of $1.18. However, the most optimistic target calls for $1.43. In the following year, EPS could rise to $1.38 with a blue-sky target of $1.79.

On the top line, experts are modeling sales to reach $1.19 billion. If so, that would represent a 16.8% increase from last year’s tally of $1.02 billion. In fiscal 2025, revenue could soar to $1.37 billion, up 15.5% from projected 2024 sales.

While Wheaton isn’t the most generous company in terms of passive income, it offers a forward yield of 1.18%. Overall, WPM makes for a solid package for gold stocks to buy.

B2Gold (BTG)

Featuring a price tag of less than three bucks per share, B2Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG) ranks among one of the more speculative ideas for gold stocks to buy. Still, it provides decent financial metrics. Over the past decade, it’s been profitable for eight of them. In addition, the company supports a robust operating margin of 34.69%, beating out 92.67% of its peers.

For the current fiscal year, analysts are modeling EPS to reach 23 cents. That’s disappointing compared to last year’s result of 28 cents. However, the high-side target calls for 31 cents, which appears credible given the possible inflation catalyst. For fiscal 2025, the consensus view for EPS rises to 42 cents.

On the top line, analysts are projecting sales of $1.81 billion. That’s off almost 7% from last year’s haul of $1.93 billion. However, the optimists are calling for $1.98 billion. In addition, the following year could see revenue skyrocket to $2.46 billion, up 36.2% from projected 2024 sales.

Notably, B2Gold also offers a forward yield of 6.45%. It’s a compelling idea for those willing to gamble on gold stocks to buy.

Sibanye Stillwater (SBSW)

Based in South Africa, Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) presents a high-risk, high-reward case for gold stocks to buy. On the not-so-pleasant side, SBSW is volatile, losing almost 50% of equity value in the past 52 weeks. Further, issues such as labor strikes have historically stymied Sibanye. On the flipside, Friday’s gain of over 3% suggests that bullish momentum could be entering the space.

Fundamentally, Sibanye isn’t just relevant for the gold exposure. Rather, the company mines the platinum group metals, particularly palladium. The automotive industry uses a large amount of the metal for manufacturing catalytic converters. With electric vehicles suffering from a demand fallout, combustion-based vehicles could see a demand swing. That may help boost SBSW stock down the line.

Moreover, with the red ink, Sibanye appears undervalued. For example, shares trade at only 9.31X forward earnings, below the sector median of 14.41X. Also, SBSW is priced at 0.53X trailing-year revenue, below the sector median of 1.64X.

To be fair, analysts rate shares a consensus hold. However, the high-side price target calls for $6, implying almost 28% upside potential. It’s worth looking into.

On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.