Russel Metals' profits soar in first quarter

Russel Metals

First quarter ended March 31	2026	2025	Change
Net sales	$1,418.3	$1,173.6	20.9%
Net earnings (loss)	$71.8	$43.0	67.0%
Per diluted share	$1.30	$0.75	73.3%

(in millions of Canadian dollars except per share)

Russel Metals’ earnings jumped in the first quarter as it reported record quarterly shipments and revenue.

The Mississauga, Ontario-based metals distributor posted net income of Canadian $71.8 million (US$52.8 million) in Q1’26, up 67% from CA$43 million a year earlier. Net sales increased to CA$1.4 billion in the same comparison, a quarterly record.

Russel said its metal service center segment also had record shipments in the quarter despite severe weather conditions in late January across most of eastern Canada and the US. Shipments in Q1’26 rose by 32% sequentially and 18% year over year.

The company attributed the increase in shipments to its recent acquisition of Kloeckner. Russel closed on the US$102 million buy of seven US service centers from Kloeckner Metals in January.

More broadly, market conditions in Q1’26 were “generally favorable,” Russel said in a statement on Tuesday. Demand was solid across most of its operating regions the company benefited from steel price increases over the past several months.

Outlook

Russel noted the turbulent tariff situation over the past several years, with the US imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum and Canada imposing countermeasures.

“Future steel prices and certain of our customers may be impacted by further changes in such tariffs,” Russel said.

Regarding steel prices, the company expects the recent increase to continue over the near term.

“As a result, we expect our service center average margins to improve slightly in the second quarter as compared to the first-quarter average,” Russel said.

The distributor also anticipates Q2’26 service center shipments will remain at levels near those in the first quarter “as a result of steady activity across most of our geographic regions.”

In the medium term, Russel expects to benefit from “further rebuilding of the US industrial manufacturing base, Canadian nation building projects, as well as infrastructure-related investments in areas such as data centers.”

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.