what do you think matters more for long-term investing: producers or early-stage explorers?

i’ve been thinking about the difference lately between investing in established companies versus early-stage resource explorers. producers seem more straightforward: revenue, cash flow, existing operations, exposure to commodity prices. explorers are a completely different category. a lot of them have no production and sometimes not even a defined resource yet. the value is usually tied to geology, drilling results, land position and future discovery potential. the upside can look very different