Nucor Announces Guidance for the First Quarter of 2025 Earnings

Rhea-AI Summary

Nucor (NYSE: NUE) has released its Q1 2025 earnings guidance, expecting earnings of $0.45 to $0.55 per diluted share. After adjusting for one-time charges of $0.05 per share related to facility closures, adjusted earnings are projected at $0.50 to $0.60 per share.

This represents a significant decrease from $1.22 per share in Q4 2024 and $3.46 per share in Q1 2024. The company expects steel mills segment earnings to remain stable, while anticipating decreases in both steel products and raw materials segments due to lower selling prices and reduced DRI facility margins.

Quarter-to-date, Nucor has repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares at an average price of $133.17, returning about $428 million to stockholders through share repurchases and dividends. The company plans to release detailed Q1 2025 earnings after market close on April 28, 2025.

Positive

• Continued shareholder returns through $428 million in buybacks and dividends
• Steel mills segment earnings expected to remain stable quarter-over-quarter

Negative

• Significant earnings decline from $3.46 to $0.45-$0.55 per share year-over-year
• Lower margins in raw materials segment due to DRI facilities performance
• Decreased earnings expected in steel products segment due to lower selling prices
• One-time charges of $16 million from closure of two facilities
• Higher corporate, administrative and tax impacts expected

Insights

Financial Analyst

Nucor's Q1 2025 guidance reveals a dramatic earnings deterioration, with expected EPS of $0.45-$0.55 per share representing an approximately 84-87% decline from Q1 2024's $3.46 and a 55-63% drop from Q4 2024's $1.22. Even when excluding the $16 million ($0.05 per share) one-time charges for facility closures, adjusted earnings of $0.50-$0.60 still reflect severe contraction.

The facility closures in the steel products segment signal management's response to deteriorating market conditions. Most concerning is the explicit mention of lower average selling prices driving decreased earnings in the steel products segment, suggesting significant pricing pressure. Raw materials segment earnings are also expected to decline due to margin compression at DRI facilities, indicating multi-segment weakness.

While the company has maintained an aggressive capital return program, repurchasing 2.3 million shares at $133.17 average price and returning approximately $428 million to stockholders, this appears insufficient to offset the fundamental business deterioration. The steel mills segment is the lone bright spot, expected to maintain Q4 2024 performance levels, though this hardly compensates for weaknesses elsewhere.

The magnitude of year-over-year earnings collapse suggests a severe industry downturn rather than company-specific issues, with potential connections to construction activity slowdown, import competition, and margin pressure throughout the steel value chain.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) today announced guidance for its first quarter ending April 5, 2025. Nucor expects first quarter earnings to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.55 per diluted share. After adding back certain one-time charges totaling approximately $0.05 per diluted share, described below, we expect first quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.50 to $0.60. Nucor reported net earnings of $1.22 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $3.46 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2024.

One-Time Non-Cash Charges
Included in the first quarter of 2025 non-adjusted guidance range are estimated one-time charges of approximately $16 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, related to the closure of two facilities in the steel products segment.

First Quarter of 2025 Commentary
We expect earnings in the steel mills segment in the first quarter of 2025 to be in line with the fourth quarter of 2024. We expect earnings in the steel products segment to decrease in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 due primarily to lower average selling prices. The earnings of the raw materials segment are expected to decrease in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 due to lower margins at our DRI facilities.  We expect higher corporate, administrative and tax impacts in the first quarter of 2025 than recognized in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Quarter-to-date, Nucor has repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares at an average price of $133.17 and has returned approximately $428 million to stockholders in the form of share repurchases and dividend payments. 

First Quarter of 2025 Earnings Release and Conference Call
Nucor plans to release its earnings after the markets close on Monday, April 28, 2025, and will host a conference call the morning of Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to review the Company's first quarter results. The event will be broadcast on the internet, and instructions on how to access will be sent closer to the call.

About Nucor
Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products, with operating facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel racking; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; precision castings; steel fasteners; metal building systems; insulated metal panels; overhead doors; steel grating; wire and wire mesh; and utility structures. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company and its affiliates, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and hot briquetted iron / direct reduced iron; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company uses certain non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures in this news release, adjusted earnings per diluted share. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's performance or financial position that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

We define adjusted earnings per diluted share as net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders, adding back the per diluted share impact of one-time charges related to the closure of two facilities in the steel products segment, divided by our estimated diluted average shares outstanding. Please note that other companies might define their non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do.

Management presents the non-GAAP financial measure of adjusted earnings per diluted share in this news release because it considers it to be an important supplemental measure of performance. Management believes that this non-GAAP financial measure provides additional insight for analysts and investors evaluating the Company's financial and operational performance by providing a consistent basis of comparison across periods.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which we expect will or may occur in the future and may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. The words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "project," "may," "will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's best judgment based on current information, and, although we base these statements on circumstances that we believe to be reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future events will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking information. As such, the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may vary materially from the projected results and expectations discussed in this news release. Factors that might cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including pressure from imports and substitute materials; (2) U.S. and foreign trade policies affecting steel imports or exports; (3) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to general market conditions, and in particular, prevailing market steel prices and changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including pig iron, iron ore and scrap steel; (4) the availability and cost of electricity and natural gas, which could negatively affect our cost of steel production or result in a delay or cancellation of existing or future drilling within our natural gas drilling programs; (5) critical equipment failures and business interruptions; (6) market demand for steel products, which, in the case of many of our products, is driven by the level of nonresidential construction activity in the United States; (7) impairment in the recorded value of inventory, equity investments, fixed assets, goodwill or other long-lived assets; (8) uncertainties and volatility surrounding the global economy, including excess world capacity for steel production, inflation and interest rate changes; (9) fluctuations in currency conversion rates; (10) significant changes in laws or government regulations affecting environmental compliance, including legislation and regulations that result in greater regulation of greenhouse gas emissions that could increase our energy costs, capital expenditures and operating costs or cause one or more of our permits to be revoked or make it more difficult to obtain permit modifications; (11) the cyclical nature of the steel industry; (12) capital investments and their impact on our performance; (13) our safety performance; (14) our ability to integrate businesses we acquire; and (15) the impact of any pandemic or public health situation. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of Nucor's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date, and Nucor does not assume any obligation to update them, except as may be required by applicable law.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nucor-announces-guidance-for-the-first-quarter-of-2025-earnings-302407496.html

SOURCE Nucor Corporation

FAQ

What is Nucor's (NUE) earnings guidance for Q1 2025?

Nucor expects Q1 2025 earnings of $0.45-$0.55 per share, or $0.50-$0.60 adjusted for one-time charges.

How much has NUE stock performance declined compared to previous quarters?

Earnings dropped significantly from $3.46 per share in Q1 2024 and $1.22 per share in Q4 2024.

How many shares has Nucor (NUE) repurchased in Q1 2025?

Nucor has repurchased 2.3 million shares at $133.17 average price, returning $428 million to stockholders.

What is causing the decline in Nucor's (NUE) steel products segment?

The decline is primarily due to lower average selling prices in the steel products segment.

When will Nucor (NUE) release its full Q1 2025 earnings report?

Nucor will release Q1 2025 earnings after markets close on April 28, 2025.