Photo courtesy of Steel Dynamics Inc.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), a steel production and metals recycling firm based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has provided third quarter 2025 earnings guidance in a range from $2.60 to $2.64 per diluted share.
If it hits that target, SDI will boost its earnings per share by about 30 percent compared with the prior quarter, when it earned $2.01 per share.
The company credits improved earnings from each of the company’s three operating platforms for its optimistic forecast. In addition to producing recycled-content steel and aluminum, SDI also processes and trades scrap metal and fabricates downstream products such as building components.
The forecast also represents nearly a 30 percent boost in profitability from its results in the third quarter of 2024, when SDI earned $2.05 per diluted share.
“Third quarter 2025 earnings from the company’s metals recycling operations are expected to be significantly stronger than second quarter sequential results, based on steady shipments and [a] stronger ferrous metal spread,” SDI says.
The company expects the current quarter’s earnings from its steel fabrication operations to be higher compared with the prior quarter, driven by increased volume spurred by demand from the commercial, data center, manufacturing, warehouse and health care sectors.
The company’s newest venture in the aluminum sector is focused on the commissioning and startup of the Columbus, Mississippi, aluminum flat-rolled products mill and San Luis Potosi, Mexico, satellite recycled-content slab center.
“The cast houses and hot strip mill are operating very well and performing above expectations for this stage of the startup, and commissioning is ongoing in other areas of the facility, including the cold mill,” the company says.
In SDI’s largest business unit, consisting of its recycled-content electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills, the firm expects third quarter 2025 profitability in those operations to be stronger than sequential second quarter results, driven by strong shipments and metal spread expansion as scrap raw material costs are expected to decline more than average realized steel pricing.
“The nonresidential construction, automotive, energy and industrial sectors continue to lead demand," SDI says.
Weekly production figures released by the Washington-based American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) for the week demonstrate September output that is above last year’s level but may have leveled off to some extent.
In the week ending Sept. 13, mills in the United States produced 1.764 million tons of raw steel. That total represents a 6.5 percent increase compared with the same week in 2024 but also points to a 1.7 percent decline in production compared with the prior week.
With a variety of tariff protections for domestic steelmakers increasingly in place in the U.S., mills are operating at a 77.9 percent capability utilization (capacity) rate in mid-September. That compares with a 74.6 percent capacity rate one year earlier.
Looking ahead, SDI points to accelerated announcements for meaningful domestic manufacturing investment and onshoring, coupled with the U.S. infrastructure program that are expected to positively impact demand for not only steel joist and deck products, but also for flat-rolled and long product steel.
SDI plans to release its third quarter 2025 earnings results after the market closes Oct. 20 and will hold a conference call the following day.