The three FTSE 100 top performers of the past year span a technology investment trust, a copper miner, and a precious-metals producer. The FTSE 100 itself has returned 19% since the end of May 2025. These three names have moved considerably further.
Polar Capital Technology Trust
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) aims to cut through sector hype by investing in companies exposed to structural, secular trends, with artificial intelligence at the centre of its approach. Around 30% of the portfolio sits in the Magnificent 7 stocks.
For the year ended 30 April 2025, NAV per ordinary share rose to 325.20p from 315.41p at the start of the year, a 3.1% total-return increase, according to PCT’s annual financial highlights. A figure of 102% NAV per share growth over the same period has been cited elsewhere; the company’s own annual highlights page gives 3.1%, and sources conflict on this point.
The discount to NAV was 11.3% at 30 April 2025, per the same document. A figure of 7.5% has been cited in other sources; sources conflict, and the company’s annual figure of 11.3% is used here.
By 31 October 2025, total net assets had risen to £6.1 billion (unaudited), up 60.5% from £3.8 billion at the April 2025 audited year-end, per the PCT half-year results to 31 October 2025.
PCT holds 101 companies and pays no dividend; no interim distribution was declared for the period ended 31 October 2025 and none is intended for the year ending 30 April 2026. For investors seeking broad technology exposure without selecting individual winners, the 11.3% discount means the portfolio can still be bought at below its underlying value, per the AIC audited results announcement.
Antofagasta
Antofagasta, the Chilean copper miner, has benefited from a 32% rise in copper prices over the past year. Full-year 2025 figures confirmed the scale of that tailwind: revenue rose 30% to $8.6 billion, EBITDA margins widened by nine percentage points to 60%, and underlying earnings jumped 106% year-on-year, according to the group’s 2025 full-year results.
Copper production reached 653,700 tonnes in 2025, slightly below the 664,000 tonnes produced in 2024, per the Q4 2025 production report. Net cash costs fell 27% to $1.19/lb, a five-year low, driven by higher by-product revenues from gold and molybdenum.
The balance sheet is in good shape. Cash and liquid investments stood at $4.9 billion at 31 December 2025, and net debt to EBITDA was 0.53x. Capital expenditure of $3.7 billion in 2025 is funding construction projects expected to increase copper output by 30% once complete. Production guidance for 2026 is 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes.
Copper prices track the global economy closely. A growth slowdown would hit earnings, and currency moves and Chilean political risk add further volatility. The costs position and the forward pipeline give Antofagasta a degree of resilience if conditions soften.
Fresnillo
Fresnillo, the Mexican miner, has been the FTSE 100’s best-performing stock over the past year, driven by a 34% rise in gold prices and a 116% surge in silver. The company is the world’s largest primary silver producer, holding 2.25 billion ounces of silver resources and 38.5 million ounces of gold resources as at 30 June 2024, per its 2025 annual report.
For the year ended 31 December 2025, adjusted revenues rose 27.6% to $4.6 billion, EBITDA climbed 80.7% to $2.8 billion, and gross profit rose 113.8% to $2,664.1 million, according to the company’s preliminary results. Total shareholder distributions for 2025 came to $950.0 million, or 128.92 US cents per share, described as the highest since listing. Fresnillo has also announced the acquisition of Probe Gold to extend its pipeline.
Both metals have since pulled back by more than a third from their 52-week highs. Investors in FTSE 100 top performers in the mining sector should account for ongoing price volatility, production risk, and geopolitical exposure in Mexico.
What the FTSE 100 Top Performers Share
All three of these FTSE 100 top performers have run hard, but each retains a distinct forward catalyst. For PCT, the 11.3% discount to NAV and the half-year rise in net assets to £6.1 billion suggest the portfolio continued to appreciate well after the initial move. For Antofagasta, the construction pipeline targeting a 30% increase in copper output is the key variable. For Fresnillo, the question is whether precious-metal prices stabilise at levels that sustain the margin gains delivered in 2025.
Antofagasta’s construction progress reports, expected as major projects advance through 2026, will be the earliest concrete test of whether that 30% production uplift stays on schedule.
