Nucor expects first quarter earnings to hit record high

Pittsburgh — Nucor expects quarterly earnings to hit a record high for the company in the first quarter, with strong demand and expanded margins expected to persist into Q2, it said March 16.

For the quarter ended April 3, Nucor expects its earnings to be in the range of $3.00 to $3.10 per diluted share. This compares with earnings of 7 cents per diluted share, or net income of $20.3 million, in the year-ago quarter, and earnings of $1.30 per diluted share, or net income of $398.8 million in Q4 2020.

"March is expected to be the strongest month of the quarter," Nucor said in a statement. "Margins have expanded since the beginning of the year, a trend we expect to continue into the second quarter. We believe earnings in the second quarter of 2021 will likely set a new record for quarterly earnings."

All three of the company's segments – steel mills, steel products and raw materials – are generating strong results, Nucor said. Results for the company's steel mills segment are expected to be "significantly" higher than the previous quarter due to strong steel demand and higher prices, Nucor said.

"All the product groups in the steel mills segment are forecasting higher first quarter results compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, with the largest increases coming from our sheet and plate mills," Nucor said. "The company is experiencing strong demand across most of its end markets, including nonresidential construction, automotive, renewable energy, heavy equipment and agriculture."

US Steel updates guidance

US Steel revised its Q1 guidance March 14, stating it expects adjusted net earnings to be about $265 million for the period, excluding impacts related to the company's acquisition of Big River Steel, it said.

US Steel expects Q1 adjusted diluted earnings per share to be about $1.02, it said. This compares with a year-ago net loss of $391 million, or $2.30 per diluted share. In Q4 2020, US Steel reported net earnings of $49 million, or 22 cents per diluted share.

In a statement, US Steel CEO David Burritt pointed to the current demand strength in steel markets, both in the US and Europe.

"Healthy flat-rolled customer demand across most end-markets and the flow-through of higher steel prices are resulting in substantially higher results from our flat-rolled and US Steel Europe segments and our newly formed 'mini mill' segment, which will showcase the performance of Big River Steel," Burritt said. "Solid market fundamentals, low steel supply chain inventories, continued consumer-driven demand, and pent-up infrastructure demand has us increasingly bullish."

To date, Nucor and US Steel are the only two publicly traded steelmakers to issue earnings guidance for Q1.