Nucor profits jump in Q3, but company cautions on Q4 outlook sequentially

Nucor’s profits more than doubled in the third quarter year over year (y/y), but the company expects Q4’25 earnings to be lower sequentially.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker reported net income attributable to Nucor stockholders of $607 million in Q3’25 ended Oct. 4, up 143% from $250 million a year earlier. Net sales rose 15% to $8.52 billion in the same comparison.

“We continue to execute on Nucor’s strategy of growing our core steelmaking capabilities, while expanding into downstream, steel-adjacent businesses,” Leon Topalian, Nucor chair, president, and CEO, said in a statement after market close on Monday.

He said that during the third quarter, “we began ramping up production at two recently completed bar mill projects (in North Carolina and Arizona), advanced our sheet steel production and coating projects, and commenced pole production at our Alabama Towers & Structures facility.”

Nucor logged total steel shipments of 6.43 million short tons (st) in Q3’25, down 1% from the previous quarter but up 12% y/y.

At 3.03 million st of sheet in Q3’25, shipments were down 1% quarter over quarter but rose 7% y/y. Plate, at 594,000 st shipped, was down 2% but up 37%, respectively, in the same comparison.

Segment earnings sequentially

Net income attributable to Nucor stockholders was relatively flat in Q3 from the previous quarter, ticking up from $603 million in Q2’25.

Nucor said earnings in its steel mills segment fell in Q3’25 from Q2’25 “primarily due to slightly lower volumes coupled with margin compression.”

The steel products earnings segment slipped quarter over quarter “due to higher average costs per ton on stable average realized pricing and moderately higher volumes.”

Finally, the raw materials segment notched lower earnings in Q3’25 “primarily due to lower realized pricing in our direct-reduced iron and scrap processing operations.”

Nucor said third-quarter net income was helped because it removed fewer profits tied to “intracompany sales” and paid a smaller share of earnings to noncontrolling interests.

Q4 outlook

The steelmaker expects Q4’25 earnings to be lower than Q3’25.

“In the steel mills segment, the expected decrease is primarily due to lower overall volumes, along with lower average selling prices in our sheet mills,” Nucor said.

Lower volumes are seen impacting the steel products segment.

For the raw materials segment, “the expected decrease is due to lower realized pricing as well as planned outages at our direct reduced iron facilities.”