Worthington Steel earnings slip in 'challenging' fiscal Q3

Worthington Steel

Third quarter ended Feb. 28	2026	2025	% Change
Net sales	$769.8	$687.4	12.0%
Net earnings (loss)	$10.4	$13.8	-24.6%
Per diluted share	$0.20	$0.27	-25.9%
Nine months ended Feb. 28
Net sales	$2,514.6	$2,260.4	11.2%
Net earnings (loss)	$66.0	$55.0	20%
Per diluted share	$1.30	$1.09	19.3%

(in millions of dollars except per share)

Worthington Steel reported lower earnings in its fiscal third quarter.

The Columbus, Ohio-based service center posted net earnings attributable to controlling interest of $10.4 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28. That’s down 25% from $13.8 million a year earlier despite net sales rising 12% to $769.8 million in the same comparison.

The company reported overall volumes of 817,524 short tons in fiscal Q3’26, off 7% year over year.

“This was a challenging quarter from a macroeconomic standpoint, but our focus did not change,” Worthington Steel President and CEO Geoff Gilmore said in a statement after market close on Wednesday.

Kloeckner deal

Recall that Worthington confirmed it was in talks to acquire Germany-based metal distributor Kloeckner & Co. in December. The companies officially signed a deal in January.

Worthington has said its offer implies an enterprise value of $2.4 billion. A merger would also create the second-largest service center chain in North America.

Terms of the deal require Kloeckner shareholders to tender 57.5% of company shares by Thursday, March 26. Those terms initially required 65% by March 12. Worthington said on March 10 that it had obtained 56.9%.

Gilmore described the planned acquisition of Kloeckner as “transformational for Worthington Steel”.

Worthington Steel

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.