Nucor Announces Guidance for the Third Quarter of 2026 Earnings
Nucor projects higher Q3 2026 earnings per share versus both Q2 2026 and Q3 2025 while continuing substantial capital returns.
Rhea-AI Summary
Nucor (NUE) issued guidance for third quarter 2026 earnings, expecting net earnings of $5.55 to $5.65 per diluted share.
This compares with second quarter 2026 net earnings of $5.04 and adjusted net earnings of $4.84 per diluted share, and $2.63 per diluted share in third quarter 2025. Third quarter earnings are expected to rise in the steel mills and steel products segments, driven by higher average selling prices, stable or higher volumes, and higher realized pricing, while the raw materials segment is expected to see lower earnings on weaker pricing and shipments.
Second quarter results benefited from a $61 million non-cash gain related to Nucor's Helion investment and $130 million in cash refunds on prior raw material procurement costs, benefits not expected to recur. In the third quarter to date, Nucor has repurchased about 2.03 million shares at an average price of $247.04 and has returned approximately $1.36 billion to stockholders year-to-date via share repurchases and dividends.
Positive
- Q3 2026 EPS guidance $5.55–$5.65 per diluted share, above Q2 2026 adjusted $4.84
- Steel mills segment earnings expected to increase on higher selling prices and stable volumes
- Steel products segment earnings expected to rise on higher volumes and realized pricing
- Share repurchases ~2.03 million shares in Q3 at $247.04 average price
- Capital returns ~$1.36 billion to stockholders year-to-date via buybacks and dividends
Negative
- Raw materials segment earnings expected to decline on lower pricing and shipments
- $61 million non-cash Helion valuation benefit from Q2 will not recur in Q3
- $130 million in Q2 cash refunds on prior raw material costs not expected in Q3
- Corporate/eliminations expense expected to be higher in Q3 2026
Key Figures
- Q3 2026 earnings guidance
- $5.55–$5.65 per diluted share
- Third quarter ending October 3, 2026
- Q2 2026 net earnings
- $5.04 per diluted share
- Second quarter 2026
- Q2 2026 adjusted earnings
- $4.84 per diluted share
- Second quarter 2026
- Q3 2025 earnings
- $2.63 per diluted share
- Third quarter 2025
- Helion valuation benefit
- $61 million pre-tax
- Q2 2026 non-cash benefit
- Raw material cost refunds
- $130 million
- Q2 2026 steel mills segment benefit absent in Q3
- Shares repurchased
- 2.03 million shares
- During Q3 2026 at an average price of $247.04 per share
- Capital returned
- $1.36 billion
- Year-to-date through Q3 2026
Historical Context
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Guided Q2 earnings to $4.70–$4.80 per diluted share with Helion benefit
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Reported Q2 EPS of $5.04 and $4.84 adjusted, with a $61 million Helion benefit
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
non-gaap financial
gaap financial
intersegment profit eliminations technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Second quarter of 2026 results included a non-cash, pre-tax benefit of
Third Quarter of 2026 Outlook Compared to the Second Quarter of 2026
Third quarter earnings are expected to increase in the steel mills and steel products segments, while decreasing in the raw materials segment. The expected increase in the steel mills segment is due to higher average selling prices and stable volumes, partially offset by higher costs of products sold. Second quarter steel mills segment earnings benefited from
We expect higher corporate/eliminations expense in the third quarter, reflecting both the absence of the Helion valuation adjustment, and intersegment profit eliminations in line with the prior quarter.
Capital Returns
During the third quarter, Nucor has repurchased approximately 2.03 million shares at an average price of
Third Quarter of 2026 Earnings Release and Conference Call
Nucor plans to release its earnings after the markets close on Monday, October 26, 2026, and will host a conference call the morning of Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to review the Company's third 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, including adjusted net 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.
For the second quarter of 2026, we defined adjusted net earnings per diluted share as net earnings per diluted share subtracting certain non-cash benefits (in this case, the per diluted share impact of the increase in the value of our investment in Helion), net of tax. 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 net 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, 2025. 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.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures |
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Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Earnings Per Diluted Share (Unaudited) |
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Three Months (13 Weeks) Ended |
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July 4, 2026 |
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Net earnings per diluted share |
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$ |
5.04 |
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Subtract non-cash benefit, net of tax, per diluted share |
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0.20 |
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Adjusted net earnings per diluted share |
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$ |
4.84 |
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SOURCE Nucor Corporation
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