Nucor sees slimmer profits in Q4

Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced guidance for its fourth quarter of 2024 ending Dec. 31, indicating it expects its earnings per share (EPS) to drop from $1.05 in the previous quarter and instead to range from 55 cents to 65 cents.

The company, which operates recycled-content steel mills and a network of scrap yards within its David J. Joseph (DJJ) business unit, says it has seen declining activity in its steel mill and its downstream steel products operations this quarter.

If the company’s fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share amount is 60 cents this quarter—in the middle of its guidance range—that will result in an 81 percent decline from the $3.16 per diluted share it earned in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“The largest driver for the expected decrease in earnings in the fourth quarter of 2024 is the decreased earnings of the steel mills segment caused by decreased volumes and lower average selling prices,” Nucor says.

The company says it also expects earnings in its steel products segment to decrease in the fourth quarter, again citing “decreased volumes and lower average selling prices.”

The one predicted bright spot is in its raw materials segment, which includes the DJJ metals recycling operations. Earnings in that business segment are expected to increase this quarter compared with the third quarter of 2024, even excluding an impairment charge tied to those operations taken by Nucor during the third quarter.

Nucor says it will release its fourth-quarter earnings report after United States markets close Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, and will host a conference call the following morning.