Nucor Profit More Than Doubles to $1.32 Billion as Sales Jump 32% to $11.25 Billion

Nucor Corporation said on Monday that third-quarter profit more than doubled to $1.32 billion, or $5.80 per diluted share, as net sales rose 32% to $11.25 billion on higher steel-mill selling prices and volumes.

The quarter belonged to the mills. Nucor Corporation said on Monday that net earnings attributable to its stockholders rose to $1.32 billion in the third quarter of 2026, more than double the $607 million of a year earlier, while diluted earnings per share rose to $5.80 from $2.63. Net sales rose 32% to $11.25 billion from $8.52 billion a year earlier and rose 8% from $10.4 billion in the second quarter. Revenue topped the $10.84 billion consensus estimate tracked by MarketBeat, and earnings per share were essentially in line with the $5.84 consensus estimate. Net earnings before noncontrolling interests were $1.47 billion, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $2.28 billion, against $1.27 billion a year earlier.

Steel mills did the heavy lifting

Pre-tax earnings in the steel mills segment rose to $1.79 billion from $793 million a year earlier and from $1.56 billion in the second quarter. Steel products earned $465 million before taxes, up from $319 million a year earlier, and raw materials earned $105 million, up from $43 million a year earlier but down from $146 million in the second quarter. Corporate and eliminations were a $491 million pre-tax expense. The company said the mills' increase came from higher average selling prices and increased volumes, partly offset by higher cost of products sold — and it came despite a comparison that flattered the second quarter: second-quarter mills cost of products sold had been reduced by a $130 million cash refund tied to prior periods' raw material procurement, which did not recur in the third quarter. Steel products rose on higher volumes and higher average realized pricing, the company said, while raw materials earnings decreased from the second quarter on lower pricing and shipments.

Prices and volumes both moved the right way

Nucor sold 7.53 million tons to external customers in the quarter, up 11% from a year earlier and down 1% from the second quarter, at an external average sales price of $1,493 per ton, up 19% from a year earlier. Steel mills shipped 7.23 million tons in total, up 12% from a year earlier, and mills utilization was 89%, up from 85% a year earlier and down from 91% in the second quarter. The combination — more tons at materially higher prices, with mills running four percentage points busier than a year earlier — is what converted a 32% sales gain into a far larger profit gain: net earnings attributable to stockholders rose 117% from $607 million, a calculation from the reported figures.

Cash generation funded buybacks, dividends and the growth mills

Nucor ended the quarter with $3.64 billion in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, and its $2.25 billion revolving credit facility remained undrawn, with an expiry in March 2030. The company said it continues to hold the strongest credit ratings in the North American steel sector, at A-/A-/A3 with stable outlooks. During the quarter it repurchased approximately 2.03 million shares at an average price of $247.04 per share, and it returned approximately $629 million to stockholders in the quarter through repurchases and dividends, and approximately $1.36 billion in the first nine months. Free cash flow for the first nine months was $2.66 billion — operating cash flow of $4.52 billion less capital expenditures of $1.86 billion — which the company rounds to approximately $2.7 billion. The board declared a cash dividend of $0.56 per share on September 18, payable on November 10, 2026, to stockholders of record as of September 30 — its 214th consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

A steady fourth quarter is the company's own forecast

Chair and Chief Executive Leon Topalian thanked the company's teammates for “delivering another strong quarter and making 2026 the safest summer in Nucor history,” pointing to approximately $2.7 billion of free cash flow and nearly $1.4 billion returned to shareholders through the first nine months. He cited two growth milestones: the first heat at the West Virginia sheet mill in September and the recent start-up of a second galvanizing line at Nucor Steel Berkeley. For the fourth quarter, the company said it expects earnings to be generally in-line with or modestly higher than the third quarter: steel mills earnings are expected to be stable, with higher realized pricing offset by seasonally lower volumes and higher costs; steel products earnings are expected to be stable; raw materials earnings are expected to be slightly lower on lower realized DRI pricing; and intersegment profit eliminations are expected to decrease.

What remains unknown

The release reports the third quarter on a reported basis only: the sole adjusted figure it reconciles is the second quarter's, where adjusted earnings per share of $4.84 excluded a non-cash Helion valuation benefit — readers comparing quarters should not mistake that second-quarter adjusted figure for a third-quarter number. What the release does not size is how much of the fourth quarter's expected pricing benefit survives seasonal volume declines and higher costs, or how far DRI pricing falls in raw materials. What to watch is specific: whether fourth-quarter earnings land in line with or modestly above the third quarter, as the company guided; what management adds on the earnings call scheduled for October 27, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time; and whether mills utilization holds near 89% as the West Virginia sheet mill and the new Berkeley galvanizing line ramp. The verified record on Monday is a mills-led quarter in which higher prices and higher volumes more than doubled profit — and a company confident enough to guide the next quarter at or above it.