Strong growth appetite has Nucor eyeing Big River's EAF assets

Chair, President, and CEO Leon Topalian pointed out that Nucor is both the largest steel producer and largest EAF producer in North America. “Of course we’re looking. And we’re going to continue to look,” he said.

He noted the company is about two-thirds of the way done with a $16-billion capital spending campaign, which includes organic growth, greenfield growth, and M&A opportunities.

So “when things become available that fit us culturally, that fit us technologically, and we believe we can return value to our shareholders, man, we’re going to execute,” he added.

However, “Valuation is ultimately going to dictate whether or not we’re going to move forward” with any kind of deal, he clarified.

American steel icons

Another analyst asked more specifically about the recent report that Nucor could be working on a deal to acquire the Big River Steel EAF assets of U.S. Steel.

While he could only speculate on what will happen in the coming months with the $15-billion Nippon Steel/U.S. Steel deal, “There are some assets that Nucor may be interested in, again, if they come to fruition,” Topalian offered.

While Topalian commended United Steelworkers (USW) union members for their work at U.S. Steel, he blamed company leadership for what he said was lack of investment over the years that hasn’t allowed the company to stay competitive. He further commented that what remains of the company today is just “a shell of itself” vs. past decades.

There may be nostalgia surrounding U.S. Steel, “But if you want to talk about iconic companies over the last 60 years, it’s Nucor, period, full stop,” he offered.

Nucor’s first mini-mill in Darlington, S.C., began producing steel in 1969, and the company was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. The company now operates 26 EAF steel mills in the US with more than 30 million tons of annual steelmaking capacity. Its stock price has grown to $126.55 per share as of the close of business Tuesday.

And growing the company and returning profits to shareholders will remain Nucor’s focus, according to Topalian.

“We have plenty of liquidity if we wanted to do whatever we wanted to do, in terms of M&A or leverage,” he added. “Stay tuned. Nucor will stay on the forefront of thinking about growth, but we will not overpay for assets, and we will be very disciplined in how we execute our capital.”