Nucor Announces Guidance for the First Quarter of 2026 Earnings

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) today announced guidance for its first quarter ending April 4, 2026. Nucor expects first quarter earnings to be in the range of $2.70 to $2.80 per diluted share. Nucor reported fourth quarter 2025 net earnings of $1.64 and adjusted earnings of $1.73, both per diluted share.  Prior year first quarter net earnings were $0.67 and adjusted earnings were $0.77, both per diluted share.

Earnings in the first quarter of 2026 are expected to increase across all three of our operating segments as compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, with the largest increase in the steel mills segment. The expected increase in the steel mills segment earnings is due to higher average selling prices and volumes across all product groups. In the steel products segment, we expect improved earnings due to increased volumes and stable average realized pricing. The raw materials segment is expected to have slightly higher earnings in the first quarter of 2026. 

During the first quarter of 2026, Nucor has repurchased approximately 0.7 million shares at an average price of $175.19 per share. Nucor has returned approximately $250 million to stockholders in the form of share repurchases and dividend payments year-to-date.

Nucor plans to release its earnings after the markets close on Monday, April 27, 2026, and will host a conference call the morning of Tuesday, April 28, 2026 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.

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.

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.

We define adjusted net earnings per diluted share as net earnings per diluted share adding back the per diluted share impact of losses and impairments of assets, net of tax and noncontrolling interests. 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.

SOURCE Nucor Corporation