The metal company (NASDAQ:TMC) You’ve had a good start to the new year. After rising 450% in 2025, the stock is up 17% in 2026 as of January 8.
This time last year, metal stocks were trading at around $1 per share. Its trajectory changed dramatically in April 2025 when it announced what it described as “the world’s first commercial reclamation permit application” under US law, outlining a potential path to mining polymetallic nodules.
That announcement was significant because, until then, the key to their hidden treasure had been tied to permission from the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which has yet to finalize a regulatory framework for deep-sea mining.
A path through the US government, which never ratified the treaty that created the ISA and therefore maintains its own licenses for deep seabed mining, could accelerate TMC’s business ambitions. It could also create political friction, so it is not certain that this strategy will ultimately come to fruition.
The company currently trades at about a fraction of the estimated value of its nodules. In fact, two assessments of its exploration area indicate a combined project value of $23.6 billion, with capital expenditures of $113 million. At about $7 per share (and a market cap of about $3 billion), the market appears to still assign a relatively modest probability that these nodules will ever surface and be produced commercially.
If TMC’s market valuation were to grow to the value of the project, that would imply an increase of around 700% from here.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that will happen, but I see a lot of promise. If TMC can demonstrate the viability of deep sea mining, which by the way is still a big “if”, it could hypothetically mine nodules in other regions. Indeed, it is not far-fetched to imagine The Metals Company securing long-term supply contracts with industrial and defense customers whose demands require it to secure even larger reserves of polymetallic nodules.
Here’s how a $7 stock today could make you filthy rich. Getting there will take time and volatility should be expected; There’s no guarantee and there’s risk, but for those who are patient, this moonshot project could reap big rewards.
Before you buy shares of TMC The Metals Company, consider this: