Nucor maintains healthy profits in Q3

Nucor Corp. has reported net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders of $607 million, or $2.63 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2025.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based steelmaker, which also operates the David J. Joseph network of metals recycling facilities, slightly improved upon the $603 million it earned in the previous quarter and boosted its earnings by more than 140 percent compared with the third quarter of 2024.

“We continue to execute on Nucor’s strategy of growing our core steelmaking capabilities while expanding into downstream, steel-adjacent businesses,” Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian says. “During the third quarter, we began ramping up production at two recently completed bar mill projects, advanced our sheet steel production and coating projects and commenced pole production at our Alabama Towers & Structures facility.

“Throughout a period of capital investment, Nucor continues to have the strongest balance sheet of any major steel producer in North America and has returned nearly $1 billion to shareholders year to date, representing more than 70 percent of net earnings through the third quarter."

Operationally, Nucor's earnings in its steel mills segment decreased in the third quarter primarily due to slightly lower volumes coupled with margin compression.

A decrease in its steel products segment's earnings in the quarter was tied to higher average costs per ton while in the raw materials segment Nucor had lower earnings assigned to lower realized pricing in its direct reduced iron (DRI) and scrap processing operations.

However, the company says third quarter of 2025 consolidated net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders were positively affected by lower profit elimination related to intracompany sales and a decrease in the amount of earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Regarding the quarter now underway, Nucor expects earnings to be lower compared with the third quarter.

“In the steel mills segment, the expected decrease is primarily due to lower overall volumes, along with lower average selling prices in our sheet mills," the company says.

Nucor also expects lower volumes in its steel products segment in the fourth quarter while in the raw materials segment, a decrease is expected due to lower realized pricing as well as planned outages at its DRI facilities.