International Steel Prices

Nucor Expects Lower Q1 Earnings

March 16, 2023

Despite strong profitability within its different product segments, Nucor Corp. expects first-quarter earnings to be down both sequentially and year on year.

Nucor The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said Q1 operating income should be higher than the previous quarter while net earnings will be lower. This is due to higher state tax benefits seen in Q4 as well as less favorable intercompany eliminations, it said in its Q1 earnings guidance.

Q1 earnings are expected to be in the range of $3.70 to $3.80 per diluted share, down from $4.89 per diluted share in Q4 and $7.67 per diluted share in Q1 last year.

The steel mills segment should see increased profitability sequentially on higher margins and volumes, with sheet mills seeing the most improvement.

A continuing strong performance is expected within the steel products segment, but profitability will likely be down from Q4 because of slower construction activity and some lower realized pricing. The segment’s quarterly performance should be better than that of Q1 2022, however.

Higher direct-reduced iron (DRI) and scrap volumes should increase Q1 profitability within the raw materials segment, Nucor said.

By Laura Miller, laura@steelmarketupdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. Since 2007, she has held various editorial and marketing positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills. In 2021, after a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel trade journalism, joining SMU in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.