Steel Dynamics Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

Rhea-AI Summary

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) reported third quarter 2024 financial results with net sales of $4.3 billion and net income of $318 million, or $2.05 per diluted share. The company achieved adjusted EBITDA of $557 million and cash flow from operations of $760 million. Key highlights include:

• Steel shipments of 3.2 million tons
• Strong liquidity of $3.1 billion
• Share repurchases of $310 million

Despite stable underlying steel demand, earnings declined sequentially due to lower average realized steel pricing. The company's steel operations reported operating income of $305 million, while steel fabrication operations achieved $166 million. Steel Dynamics maintains a positive outlook for 2025, expecting steel pricing recovery and benefits from ongoing investments in value-added products.

Positive

• Strong liquidity position of $3.1 billion
• Cash flow from operations of $760 million in Q3 2024
• Share repurchases of $310 million, representing 1.6% of outstanding shares
• Three-year after-tax return-on-invested capital of 26%
• Steel fabrication operations achieved $166 million operating income
• Steady steel demand and stabilized scrap prices led to improvement in flat rolled steel prices
• Positive outlook for 2025 with expected steel pricing recovery

Negative

• Net income decreased to $318 million in Q3 2024 from $428 million in Q2 2024
• Earnings per share declined to $2.05 from $2.72 sequentially
• Average external product selling price for steel operations decreased $79 per ton sequentially
• Operating income for steel operations lower than sequential results
• Metals recycling operations' operating income decreased to $12 million
• Unexpected unrealized, non-cash copper hedging loss of $10 million

FORT WAYNE, Ind., Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --

Third Quarter 2024 Performance Highlights:

• Steel shipments of 3.2 million tons
• Net sales of $4.3 billion, operating income of $395 million, net income of $318 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $557 million
• Cash flow from operations of $760 million
• Strong liquidity of $3.1 billion, as of September 30, 2024
• Share repurchases of $310 million of the company's common stock, representing 1.6 percent of its outstanding shares

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ/GS: STLD) today announced third quarter 2024 financial results. The company reported third quarter 2024 net sales of $4.3 billion and net income of $318 million, or $2.05 per diluted share. Comparatively, the company's sequential second quarter 2024 net income was $428 million, or $2.72 per diluted share and prior year third quarter net income was $577 million, or $3.47 per diluted share.

"The teams achieved a solid third quarter 2024 performance across the platforms, with adjusted EBITDA of $557 million and cash flow from operations of $760 million," said Mark D. Millett, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. "With our proven through-cycle cash generation, we increased liquidity to $3.1 billion, while also investing $621 million in our internal ongoing growth initiatives and distributing $381 million to our shareholders through cash dividends and share repurchases. Our three-year after-tax return-on-invested capital of 26 percent is a testament to our ongoing high-return capital allocation execution.

"Underlying steel demand continued to be stable in the third quarter," continued Millett. "However, earnings declined sequentially, based on lower average realized steel pricing, primarily within the flat rolled operations as generally 80 percent of this business is contractually based and tied to lagging pricing indices. Steady steel demand, coupled with continued low customer inventory and stabilized scrap prices, resulted in stabilization and improvement in flat rolled steel prices during the later part of the third quarter. Our long product steel operations realized a slight improvement in metal spread as scrap pricing declined more than average realized pricing."  

Third Quarter 2024 Comments

Third quarter 2024 operating income for the company's steel operations was $305 million, lower than sequential results, as realized selling values declined more than scrap costs in the quarter. The third quarter 2024 average external product selling price for the company's steel operations decreased $79 per ton sequentially to $1,059 per ton. The average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted at the company's steel mills decreased $21 sequentially to $367 per ton. The company's Sinton Texas Flat Roll Steel Mill team has completed the planned changes discussed on the second quarter 2024 earnings call. The team had great operating momentum in September and operated at 72 percent of its capability, excluding scheduled downtime.

Compared to the sequential quarter, third quarter 2024 operating income from the company's metals recycling operations decreased to $12 million, based on softer demand as many domestic steel mills had scheduled maintenance outages. Shipments and pricing declined for both ferrous and nonferrous materials in the quarter.  Additionally, the platform experienced an unexpected unrealized, non-cash copper hedging loss of $10 million, as copper prices sequentially increased significantly from August to  September. 

The company's steel fabrication operations achieved strong operating income of $166 million in the third quarter 2024, modestly lower than sequential second quarter results, as demand remained steady, and average realized pricing softened five percent yet remained historically strong. The order backlog was steady, extending into the first quarter 2025 at attractive pricing levels. Current order activity is steady with expectations for improved volumes in 2025, as interest rates decline and the support from the U.S. infrastructure program and onshoring are expected to positively impact demand for not only steel joist and deck products, but also for flat rolled and long product steels. 

Year-to-Date September 30, 2024 Comparison

For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net income was $1.3 billion, or $8.46 per diluted share, with net sales of $13.7 billion, as compared to net income of $2.0 billion, or $11.98 per diluted share, with net sales of $14.6 billion for the same period in 2023.

For the first nine months 2024, net sales decreased six percent to $13.7 billion and operating income declined 35 percent to $1.7 billion, when compared to the same period in 2023. Decreased earnings were the result of lower volume and pricing from the company's steel and steel fabrication operations during the period. For the first nine months 2024, operating income from the company's steel fabrication operations was $525 million, compared to $1.3 billion in the same prior year period. Operating income from the company's steel operations was $1.4 billion, compared to $1.5 billion for the same prior year period. The average nine-month 2024 external selling price for the company's steel operations decreased $38 per ton to $1,133 per ton compared to the first nine months of 2023, and the average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted at the company's steel mills decreased $30 per ton to $391 per ton.

Based on the company's differentiated business model and highly variable cost structure, the company achieved cash flow from operations of $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2024, representing a strong performance. The company also invested $1.4 billion in capital investments, paid cash dividends of $212 million, and repurchased $917 million of its outstanding common stock, representing 4.5 percent of its outstanding shares, while maintaining strong liquidity of $3.1 billion.

Outlook   

"Based on domestic steel demand fundamentals, we are constructive regarding the outlook for 2025 metal market dynamics," said Millett. "We expect steel pricing to recover with an anticipated lower domestic interest rate environment, coupled with continuing onshoring of manufacturing businesses, and the expectation of significant fixed asset investment to be derived from public funding related to the U.S. Infrastructure, Inflation Reduction Act, and Department of Energy programs. We believe current trade actions could also reduce volumes of unfairly traded steel imports into the United States, especially for coated flat rolled steel, which could have a significant positive impact for us, as we are the largest non-automotive flat rolled steel coater in the United States. We believe these dynamics collectively could benefit all of our operating platforms, especially our steel and steel fabrication businesses.

"Our four new value-added flat rolled steel coating lines that began operating earlier this year continue to increase production. The teams have produced prime quality galvanized and painted products on all four lines in record time. We have had limited benefit from these new lines so far this year, as we have been increasing production, and expect to realize the additional earnings potential in 2025. Value-added product investments such as these enhance our differentiated supply-chain capabilities, while also increasing our higher-margin product offerings, which already represent upwards of 65 percent of our steel revenues.  

"We are also quickly progressing on our aluminum flat rolled products mill construction and are incredibly excited about this meaningful growth opportunity, which is aligned with our existing business and operational expertise," said Millett. "We plan to begin operating the aluminum flat rolled mill mid-2025. We have intentionally grown with our customers' needs, providing efficient sustainable supply chain solutions for the highest quality products. We are pleased to further diversify our end markets with plans to supply aluminum flat rolled products with high recycled content to the countercyclical sustainable beverage can and packaging industry, in addition to the automotive, industrial, and construction sectors. Our customers and our people are incredibly excited for this growth opportunity.

"Our commitment is to the health and safety of our teams, families, and communities, while meeting the current and future needs of our customers. Our culture and business model continue to positively differentiate our performance from the rest of the industry. We are competitively positioned and focused to generate long-term sustainable value," concluded Millett.

Conference Call and Webcast

Steel Dynamics, Inc. will hold a conference call to discuss third quarter 2024 operating and financial results on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. You may access the call and find dial-in information on the Investors section of the company's website at www.steeldynamics.com.  A replay of the call will be available on our website until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 24, 2024.

About Steel Dynamics, Inc.

Steel Dynamics is one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in North America, based on estimated annual steelmaking and metals recycling capability, with facilities located throughout the United States, and in Mexico. Steel Dynamics produces steel products, including hot roll, cold roll, and coated sheet steel, structural steel beams and shapes, rail, engineered special-bar-quality steel, cold finished steel, merchant bar products, specialty steel sections, and steel joists and deck. In addition, the company produces liquid pig iron and processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap.

Note Regarding Financial Metrics

The company believes that after-tax return-on-invested capital (After-tax ROIC) provides an indication of the effectiveness of the company's invested capital and is calculated as follows:

After-tax ROIC =	Net Income Attributable to Steel Dynamics, Inc.
	(Quarterly Average Current Maturities of Long-term Debt + Long-term Debt + Total Equity)

 

Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The company reports its financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide additional meaningful information regarding the company's performance and financial strength. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to and not as an alternative for the company's reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, not all companies use identical calculations for EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA; therefore, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA included in this release may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains some predictive statements about future events, including statements related to conditions in domestic or global economies, conditions in steel, aluminum, and recycled metals market places, Steel Dynamics' revenues, costs of purchased materials, future profitability and earnings, and the operation of new, existing or planned facilities. These statements, which we generally precede or accompany by such typical conditional words as "anticipate", "intend", "believe", "estimate", "plan", "seek", "project", or "expect", or by the words "may", "will", or "should", are intended to be made as "forward-looking", subject to many risks and uncertainties, within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements speak only as of this date and are based upon information and assumptions, which we consider reasonable as of this date, concerning our businesses and the environments in which they operate. Such predictive statements are not guarantees of future performance, and we undertake no duty to update or revise any such statements. Some factors that could cause such forward-looking statements to turn out differently than anticipated include: (1) domestic and global economic factors; (2) global steelmaking overcapacity and imports of steel, together with increased scrap prices; (3) pandemics, epidemics, widespread illness or other health issues; (4) the cyclical nature of the steel industry and the industries we serve; (5) volatility and major fluctuations in prices and availability of scrap metal, scrap substitutes and supplies, and our potential inability to pass higher costs on to our customers; (6) cost and availability of electricity, natural gas, oil, and other energy resources are subject to volatile market conditions; (7) increased environmental, greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability considerations from our customers or related regulations; (8) compliance with and changes in environmental and remediation requirements; (9) significant price and other forms of competition from other steel and aluminum producers, scrap processors and alternative materials; (10) availability of an adequate source of supply of scrap for our metals recycling operations; (11) cybersecurity threats and risks to the security of our sensitive data and information technology; (12) the implementation of our growth strategy; (13) litigation and legal compliance; (14) unexpected equipment downtime or shutdowns; (15) governmental agencies may refuse to grant or renew some of our licenses and permits; (16) our senior unsecured credit facility contains, and any future financing agreements may contain, restrictive covenants that may limit our flexibility; and (17) the impacts of impairment charges.

More specifically, we refer you to our more detailed explanation of these and other factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, as set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K under the headings Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, or in other reports which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available publicly on the Securities and Exchange Commission website, www.sec.gov, and on our website, www.steeldynamics.com under "Investors – SEC Filings."

Steel Dynamics, Inc. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (UNAUDITED) (in thousands, except per share data)
		Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended						Three Months
		September 30,						September 30,						Ended
		2024			2023			2024			2023			June 30, 2024
Net sales		$	4,341,615		$	4,587,057		$	13,668,252		$	14,561,893		$	4,632,634
Costs of goods sold			3,736,398			3,635,038			11,307,400			11,246,894			3,857,797
Gross profit			605,217			952,019			2,360,852			3,314,999			774,837
Selling, general and administrative expenses			167,692			145,896			487,215			431,414			160,016
Profit sharing			34,444			64,413			145,149			224,978			48,053
Amortization of intangible assets			7,644			8,160			22,953			25,962			7,645
Operating income			395,437			733,550			1,705,535			2,632,645			559,123
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest			17,071			18,415			41,768			61,689			12,719
Other (income) expense, net			(29,659)			(39,464)			(75,151)			(105,748)			(18,708)
Income before income taxes			408,025			754,599			1,738,918			2,676,704			565,112
Income tax expense			87,131			174,817			398,834			636,412			133,422
Net income			320,894			579,782			1,340,084			2,040,292			431,690
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests			(3,092)			(2,587)			(10,243)			(13,680)			(3,692)
Net income attributable to Steel Dynamics, Inc.		$	317,802		$	577,195		$	1,329,841		$	2,026,612		$	427,998
Basic earnings per share attributable to
Steel Dynamics, Inc. stockholders		$	2.06		$	3.49		$	8.50		$	12.04		$	2.73
Weighted average common shares outstanding			154,061			165,170			156,528			168,259			156,856
Diluted earnings per share attributable to
Steel Dynamics, Inc. stockholders, including the
effect of assumed conversions when dilutive		$	2.05		$	3.47		$	8.46		$	11.98		$	2.72
Weighted average common shares
and share equivalents outstanding			154,810			166,105			157,248			169,150			157,579
Dividends declared per share		$	0.46		$	0.425		$	1.38		$	1.275		$	0.46

 

Steel Dynamics, Inc. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands)
	September 30,				December 31,
Assets	2024				2023
	(unaudited)
Current assets
Cash and equivalents	$	1,015,210			$	1,400,887
Short-term investments		645,343				721,210
Accounts receivable, net		1,564,957				1,608,307
Inventories		3,044,887				2,894,632
Other current assets		173,179				162,790
Total current assets		6,443,576				6,787,826
Property, plant and equipment, net		7,825,869				6,734,218
Intangible assets, net		234,806				257,759
Goodwill		477,471				477,471
Other assets		678,099				651,146
Total assets	$	15,659,821			$	14,908,420
Liabilities and Equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	$	1,079,816			$	1,088,330
Income taxes payable		6,248				5,524
Accrued expenses		724,219				778,455
Current maturities of long-term debt		882,013				459,987
Total current liabilities		2,692,296				2,332,296
Long-term debt		2,801,871				2,611,069
Deferred income taxes		943,154				944,768
Other liabilities		143,200				180,760
Total liabilities		6,580,521				6,068,893
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interests		171,212				171,212
Equity
Common stock		651				651
Treasury stock, at cost		(6,799,219)				(5,897,606)
Additional paid-in capital		1,220,089				1,217,610
Retained earnings		14,660,426				13,545,590
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)		(445)				421
Total Steel Dynamics, Inc. equity		9,081,502				8,866,666
Noncontrolling interests		(173,414)				(198,351)
Total equity		8,908,088				8,668,315
Total liabilities and equity	$	15,659,821			$	14,908,420

 

Steel Dynamics, Inc. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED) (in thousands)
	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2024			2023			2024			2023
Operating activities:
Net income	$	320,894		$	579,782		$	1,340,084		$	2,040,292
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by
operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		121,052			107,418			353,357			326,082
Equity-based compensation		12,828			12,044			41,453			39,800
Deferred income taxes		14,832			19,625			(1,615)			72,013
Other adjustments		(10,523)			(12,163)			1,779			(20,628)
Changes in certain assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable		210,435			260,915			43,350			173,022
Inventories		28,169			102,376			(151,501)			188,330
Other assets		(11,851)			(13,423)			(22,054)			(10,504)
Accounts payable		(13,852)			(57,532)			(11,604)			(54,233)
Income taxes receivable/payable		(12,971)			(7,105)			7,017			96,656
Accrued expenses		100,840			121,762			(102,635)			(195,542)
Net cash provided by operating activities		759,853			1,113,699			1,497,631			2,655,288
Investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment		(621,355)			(558,361)			(1,414,831)			(1,142,960)
Purchases of short-term investments		(430,826)			(170,887)			(699,879)			(692,716)
Proceeds from maturities of short-term investments		204,543			282,592			775,851			821,668
Other investing activities		(4,357)			(5,891)			(15,656)			(221,453)
Net cash used in investing activities		(851,995)			(452,547)			(1,354,515)			(1,235,461)
Financing activities:
Issuance of current and long-term debt		1,185,657			345,563			2,145,538			1,066,605
Repayment of current and long-term debt		(527,977)			(316,511)			(1,531,969)			(1,042,933)
Dividends paid		(71,584)			(70,713)			(212,216)			(201,834)
Purchase of treasury stock		(309,901)			(331,318)			(917,024)			(1,065,521)
Other financing activities		1,177			1,953			(13,153)			(39,075)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		277,372			(371,026)			(528,824)			(1,282,758)
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash		185,230			290,126			(385,708)			137,069
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period		835,526			1,480,862			1,406,464			1,633,919
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period	$	1,020,756		$	1,770,988		$	1,020,756		$	1,770,988
Supplemental disclosure information:
Cash paid for interest	$	9,102		$	9,848		$	59,466		$	61,225
Cash paid for income taxes, net	$	81,742		$	160,178		$	383,455		$	472,936

 

Steel Dynamics, Inc. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (dollars in thousands)
		Third Quarter						Year to Date
			2024			2023			2024			2023			1Q 2024			2Q 2024
External Net Sales
Steel		$	2,917,021		$	3,187,181		$	9,415,490		$	9,725,226		$	3,366,237		$	3,132,232
Steel Fabrication			447,265			630,184			1,367,276			2,278,361			447,179			472,832
Metals Recycling			565,596			520,746			1,721,501			1,696,587			569,473			586,432
Other			411,733			248,946			1,163,985			861,719			311,114			441,138
Consolidated Net Sales		$	4,341,615		$	4,587,057		$	13,668,252		$	14,561,893		$	4,694,003		$	4,632,634
Operating Income (Loss)
Steel		$	304,950		$	482,336		$	1,421,915		$	1,531,154		$	674,648		$	442,317
Steel Fabrication			165,634			330,061			524,795			1,343,495			178,381			180,780
Metals Recycling			11,616			18,505			66,383			101,727			22,635			32,132
Aluminum			(23,593)			(7,172)			(56,372)			(13,005)			(13,531)			(19,248)
			458,607			823,730			1,956,721			2,963,371			862,133			635,981
Non-cash amortization of intangible assets			(7,644)			(8,160)			(22,953)			(25,962)			(7,664)			(7,645)
Profit sharing expense			(34,444)			(64,413)			(145,149)			(224,978)			(62,652)			(48,053)
Non-segment operations			(21,082)			(17,607)			(83,084)			(79,786)			(40,842)			(21,160)
Consolidated Operating Income		$	395,437		$	733,550		$	1,705,535		$	2,632,645		$	750,975		$	559,123
Adjusted EBITDA
Net income		$	320,894		$	579,782		$	1,340,084		$	2,040,292		$	587,500		$	431,690
Income taxes			87,131			174,817			398,834			636,412			178,281			133,422
Net interest expense (income)			(8,063)			(10,350)			(30,257)			(18,574)			(14,327)			(7,867)
Depreciation			111,558			97,707			325,437			295,355			106,030			107,849
Amortization of intangible assets			7,644			8,160			22,953			25,962			7,664			7,645
EBITDA			519,164			850,116			2,057,051			2,979,447			865,148			672,739
Non-cash adjustments
Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives
and currency remeasurement			25,114			14,005			24,585			(12,570)			(1,347)			818
Equity-based compensation			12,823			11,989			40,503			37,366			14,825			12,855
Adjusted EBITDA		$	557,101		$	876,110		$	2,122,139		$	3,004,243			878,626			686,412
Other Operating Information
Steel
Average external sales price (Per ton)		$	1,059		$	1,191		$	1,133		$	1,171		$	1,201		$	1,138
Average ferrous cost (Per ton melted)		$	367		$	405		$	391		$	421		$	417		$	388
Flat Roll shipments
Butler, Columbus, and Sinton			1,924,098			1,783,581			5,860,986			5,617,322			1,993,305			1,943,583
Steel Processing divisions *			471,441			452,139			1,319,267			1,308,221			418,547			429,279
Long Product shipments
Structural and Rail Division			397,047			469,638			1,263,263			1,444,174			440,921			425,295
Engineered Bar Products Division			176,131			201,903			563,270			649,789			191,373			195,766
Roanoke Bar Division			138,096			142,195			393,125			447,532			124,920			130,109
Steel of West Virginia			74,564			98,246			240,260			290,978			86,528			79,168
Total Shipments (Tons)			3,181,377			3,147,702			9,640,171			9,758,016			3,255,594			3,203,200
External Shipments (Tons)			2,754,853			2,676,068			8,311,539			8,302,311			2,803,569			2,753,117
Steel Mill Production (Tons)			2,785,128			2,782,870			8,579,232			8,620,531			2,992,018			2,802,086
Metals Recycling
Nonferrous shipments (000's of pounds)			293,470			279,877			886,923			845,477			289,436			304,017
Ferrous shipments (Gross tons)			1,459,206			1,442,964			4,420,054			4,415,949			1,453,619			1,507,229
External ferrous shipments (Gross tons)			537,082			547,646			1,665,175			1,693,028			536,973			591,120
Steel Fabrication
Average sales price (Per ton)		$	2,836		$	3,916		$	2,980		$	4,452		$	3,141		$	2,978
Shipments (Tons)			158,595			161,697			461,506			512,537			143,842			159,069
Effective the fourth quarter 2023, we added a new reporting segment, Aluminum Operations. All prior periods presented have been recast to reflect those changes.
*   Includes Heartland, The Techs and United Steel Supply operations

 

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SOURCE Steel Dynamics, Inc.

FAQ

What were Steel Dynamics' (STLD) Q3 2024 financial results?

Steel Dynamics reported Q3 2024 net sales of $4.3 billion, net income of $318 million, and earnings per share of $2.05. The company achieved adjusted EBITDA of $557 million and cash flow from operations of $760 million.

How did Steel Dynamics' (STLD) Q3 2024 results compare to the previous quarter?

Steel Dynamics' Q3 2024 net income of $318 million ($2.05 per share) decreased compared to Q2 2024 net income of $428 million ($2.72 per share), primarily due to lower average realized steel pricing.

What was Steel Dynamics' (STLD) steel shipment volume in Q3 2024?

Steel Dynamics reported steel shipments of 3.2 million tons in the third quarter of 2024.

How much did Steel Dynamics (STLD) spend on share repurchases in Q3 2024?

Steel Dynamics repurchased $310 million of its common stock in Q3 2024, representing 1.6 percent of its outstanding shares.

What is Steel Dynamics' (STLD) outlook for 2025?

Steel Dynamics is constructive about 2025, expecting steel pricing recovery, benefits from onshoring of manufacturing, and potential positive impacts from U.S. infrastructure programs and trade actions.