Company Announcements
June 18, 2026
Nucor guides to higher earnings in second quarter
Written by Ethan Bernard
Nucor expects higher earnings in the second quarter, both sequentially and year over year, and anticipates increased profits sequentially across all its operating segments. The steel mills segment is expected to see the biggest boost.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker guided Wednesday afternoon to earnings of $4.70 to $4.80 per diluted share for Q2’26, ending July 4. This excludes a non-cash benefit of ~$0.20 per diluted share.
The company anticipates Q2’26 adjusted earnings to be in the range of $4.50 to $4.60 per diluted share. This is up from net earnings of $3.23 per diluted share in Q1’26 and $2.60 per diluted share in Q2’25.
An estimated benefit of ~$61 million, or $0.20 per share, to the non-adjusted guidance came from Nucor’s investment in Helion, an Everett, Wash.-based fusion energy company. This is after Helion completed a capital financing round in Q2’26.
Operating segments
Nucor expects earnings to increase in all three of its operating segments vs. the first quarter of 2026. The largest jump is predicted for the steel mills segment, a repeat of the first quarter.
This expected increase in the steel mills segment is due to higher average selling prices and stable volumes, Nucor said.
“It also reflects approximately $130 million of cash refunds associated with prior periods’ raw materials procurement costs, which will benefit the cost of goods sold for this segment during the quarter,” the company said in a statement.
For the steel products segment, higher earnings are expected due to increased volumes and slightly higher average realized pricing.
Finally, in the raw materials segment, Nucor anticipates higher earnings due to higher average realized prices.
The company will release its earnings after the markets close on Monday, July 27.
