Nucor's Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates on Higher Volumes

Core Insights - Nucor Corporation (NUE) reported earnings of $2.63 per share for Q3 2025, significantly up from $1.05 in the same quarter last year, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15 [1][7] - The company achieved net sales of $8,521 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of approximately 14.5%, also exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8,162.8 million [1][7] Operating Performance - Total sales tons to outside customers for steel mills in Q3 were 4,976,000 tons, an 8% increase year over year, although this figure fell short of the estimate of 5,095,000 tons [2] - Overall operating rates at Nucor's steel mills reached 85% in Q3 2025, unchanged sequentially but up from 75% in Q3 2024 [2] Segment Performance - The Steel Mills segment reported earnings of $793 million, a decline from the previous quarter due to lower shipment volumes and margin compression [3] - The Steel Products segment earned $319 million, lower sequentially due to increased costs and stable realized prices [3] - The Raw Materials segment generated $43 million, down from the prior quarter, impacted by lower pricing for direct reduced iron (DRI) and scrap processing operations [3] Financial Position - Cash and cash equivalents stood at $2,221 million at the end of the quarter, a decrease of approximately 47.9% year over year [4] - Long-term debt increased to $6,686 million, up 17.6% [4] - Nucor repurchased around 0.7 million shares of its common stock during the quarter [4][7] Future Outlook - The company expects Q4 2025 earnings to decline compared to Q3, with the Steel Mills segment anticipated to face reduced volumes and lower average selling prices [5] - The Steel Products segment is projected to experience lower earnings primarily due to decreased volumes, while the Raw Materials segment may be negatively affected by weaker realized pricing and planned maintenance outages at DRI facilities [5] Stock Performance - Nucor's shares have decreased by 2.1% over the past year, contrasting with an 8.6% rise in the industry [6]