Nucor (NYSE: NUE) more than doubles year-ago profit, expects steady fourth quarter

What happened

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) reported third-quarter net earnings of $1.32 billion for stockholders, more than double the $607 million of a year earlier. The steelmaker expects fourth-quarter earnings to be generally in-line with or modestly higher than the third quarter.

Earnings were $5.80 per diluted share, against $5.04 in the second quarter and $2.63 a year earlier. Net sales were $11.25 billion in the quarter ended Oct. 3, and EBITDA was $2.28 billion. Net earnings rose $163 million from the second quarter's $1.16 billion. Nucor announced the results Oct. 26.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders (Q3 2026)	$1.32 billion	from $607 million, +117.3%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Diluted EPS (Q3 2026)	$5.80	from $2.63, +120.5%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Net sales (Q3 2026)	$11.25 billion	from $8.52 billion, +32.0%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
EBITDA (Q3 2026)	$2.28 billion	from $1.27 billion, +80.2%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Steel mills pre-tax earnings (Q3 2026)	$1.79 billion	from $793 million, +125.5%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Returned to stockholders (Q3 2026)	$629 million		SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1

Read more: Nucor (NUE) company research

Where the earnings came from

Steel mills led the gain. The segment earned $1.79 billion before income taxes and noncontrolling interests, up from $1.56 billion in the second quarter and $793 million a year earlier. Nucor credited higher selling prices and more volume, partly offset by higher costs.

Price outpaced volume from the second quarter. Nucor's external average sales price was $1,493 per ton, up 9% from the second quarter and 19% from a year earlier. Sales to external customers were 7.53 million tons, down 1% from the second quarter and up 11% from a year earlier.

Steel products earned $465 million, up from $353 million in the second quarter, on higher volumes and higher prices. Raw materials earned $105 million, down from $146 million, on lower prices and shipments. Corporate and eliminations expense grew to $491 million from $430 million, mainly because the Helion valuation gain did not repeat.

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Why it matters

Third-quarter earnings rose even though two items that helped the second quarter did not repeat. That quarter included a $61 million non-cash, pre-tax gain, or $0.20 per diluted share, from a higher value on Nucor's investment in Helion, a fusion energy company. Steel mills' costs were also cut by $130 million in cash refunds tied to earlier raw material costs.

Nucor's second-quarter adjusted net earnings of $1.11 billion remove only the Helion gain, so the refunds stay in that base. By OptimistFi's calculation, third-quarter net earnings are $209 million above that adjusted figure.

OptimistFi has argued that Nucor is a through-cycle compounder only if cost flexibility, downstream mix and balance sheet discipline keep normalized cash earnings above what a cyclical steel multiple assumes. A quarter that beat a refund-assisted base, with steel products earnings up from $319 million a year earlier, supports that view.

The caveats sit beside that. Nucor's own outlook is in-line to modestly higher, so the release shows steady earnings more than acceleration. Steel mills utilization slipped to 89% from 91% in the second quarter. Pre-operating start-up costs were $124 million, up from $103 million a year earlier. Nucor also lists the cyclical nature of the steel industry among factors that could change results.

Cash returns and balance sheet

Nucor returned approximately $629 million to stockholders in the quarter through share repurchases and dividends, and approximately $1.36 billion over the first nine months. It bought back approximately 2.03 million shares at an average price of $247.04. The board declared a $0.56 per share dividend, payable Nov. 10 to holders of record Sept. 30. It is the 214th consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

Free cash flow for the first nine months was $2.66 billion, a measure Nucor began reporting this quarter. Cash from operations was $4.52 billion. Capital spending was $1.86 billion, down from $2.62 billion a year earlier.

Nucor held $3.64 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at quarter end. Its $2.25 billion revolving credit facility is undrawn and does not expire until March 2030. The earnings presentation shows total debt of $7.09 billion, or 1.1 times trailing EBITDA. Credit ratings are A-, A- and A3 at Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and Moody's, all with stable outlooks.

What's next

Nucor holds an earnings call Oct. 27 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with a presentation posted to its investor relations site.

For the fourth quarter, Nucor expects stable steel mills earnings as higher prices offset seasonally lower volumes and higher costs. Steel products earnings are also expected to be stable. Raw materials earnings are expected to be slightly lower on lower DRI pricing, and intersegment eliminations are expected to decrease.

A fourth-quarter result below the third quarter's level would show pricing failing to cover seasonal costs and would weaken the case. Further out, the West Virginia sheet mill made its first heat in September. Production begins in 2027, and the mill is slated to build toward a 50% utilization run rate by year-end 2027.

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