Steel Dynamics boosts sales, earnings in Q3

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Fort Wayne, Indiana, has announced third-quarter 2025 financial results that include increases in net sales and net income compared with the prior quarter.

The company, which makes recycled-content steel and aluminum and operates the OmniSource network of metals recycling facilities, has reported third-quarter net sales of $4.8 billion and net income of $404 million, which equates to $2.74 per diluted share.

The income figure compares with second-quarter 2025 net income of $299 million for a 35 percent increase. One year earlier, SDI reported third-quarter 2024 net income of $318 million, meaning it increased its earnings by 27 percent year on year.

“Our teams performed exceptionally well in the third quarter, achieving strong financial performance and hitting several operating milestones, while continuing to prioritize the safety and well-being of one another,” SDI Chair and CEO Mark D. Millett says.

SDI's third-quarter 2025 operating income for its OmniSource metals recycling operations was $32 million, $10 million higher compared with the previous quarter. The company credits near-record ferrous scrap shipments and metal spread expansion for the positive result.

“Our three-year after-tax return-on-invested capital of 15 percent is a testament to our ongoing high-return capital allocation strategy,” Millett says. “We are growing, returning significant capital to shareholders while also maintaining strong returns as compared to best-in-class domestic manufacturers.”

Referring to the company’s aluminum production investment in Mississippi, Millett says, “We have produced finished aluminum flat-rolled products for the industrial and beverage can sectors and hot band for the automotive sector, which have been qualified by several customers much sooner than anticipated.

“We also achieved record quarterly steel shipments as imports declined from the elevated levels seen earlier in the year and [the Sinton, Texas, mill’s] performance improved.”

Regarding wider business conditions, Millett says, “We continue to observe some customer inventory overhang of value-added flat-rolled products that were imported earlier this year. We have seen some order hesitancy from flat-rolled steel customers due to domestic trade actions—despite numerous encouraging demand drivers, such as manufacturing onshoring, infrastructure program funding, lower interest rates and the increasing regionalization of supply chains in the United States.

“As it relates to long product steel demand and pricing, structural steel and railroad rail have remained very strong. Looking ahead, we expect to benefit from stronger demand across our platforms, including aluminum flat rolled products as we move into 2026.”

SDI says its third quarter produced record steel shipments and metal spread expansion, as scrap raw material costs declined more than average realized steel selling values.

The steelmaker says its average third-quarter 2025 finished steel external product selling price of $1,119 represented an increase of $15 per ton compared with the second quarter. That contrasted with an average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted at the company’s steel mills that decreased $27 per ton sequentially, falling to $381 per ton.

”Discussions with our customers reinforce the increasing importance of low-carbon, U.S.-made steel and aluminum, positioning our businesses for a long-term competitive advantage," Millett says. "We expect a favorable market environment to take shape as unfair trade practices diminish, policy clarity improves and U.S. manufacturing continues to expand, driving stronger demand.

“We anticipate that improving market conditions, including increased trade stability and a more favorable interest rate environment, will contribute to strong domestic demand for steel and aluminum products.

“The aluminum team is continuing with the successful commissioning and startup of the company’s Columbus, Mississippi, aluminum flat-rolled products mill and San Luis Potosi [Mexico] satellite recycled slab center. It is an extremely exciting time for all of us. There is still much to be done, yet much has also been accomplished.”