Higher sheet and plate prices to bolster Nucor's Q2 earnings

That will be a significant improvement over the previous quarter’s $0.67 per diluted share, but a small decline from $2.68 per diluted share in Q2’24.

Nucor expects to report higher earnings in all three of its operating segments when it releases its full earnings report after the markets close on Monday, July 28.

In the steel products segment, “stable overall pricing, higher volumes, and lower average costs per ton” will help push earnings higher sequentially, the company said.

Earnings from the raw materials segment are expected to be higher as well.

Meanwhile, the steel mills segment should see the largest increase, with the company attributing it “primarily due to higher average selling prices at our sheet and plate mills.”

How much higher are steel prices? Hot-rolled coil prices so far in the current quarter have averaged $874 per short ton, $75/st more than average prices in the prior quarter. (That’s according to SMU’s index pricing records, not Nucor’s weekly list price.) Q2’25 plate prices (through June 17) have averaged $1,159/st, up from Q1’25’s average of $1,000/st.