Reliance non-GAAP EPS jumps 120% year over year to $8.02 as sales rise 42.8%

Reliance, Inc. reported third-quarter 2026 net sales of $5.21 billion, up 42.8% from $3.65 billion a year earlier, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $8.02, up 120% from $3.64. That adjusted result was well above the per-share range of $6.40 to $6.60 management had guided, and the company said the $5.21 billion sales total was a quarterly record. Reliance disclosed the figures in a Form 8-K filed October 21, 2026, with the full release attached as Exhibit 99.1.

Steel pricing drove the sequential jump in sales

Sales rose 12.6% from the second quarter's $4.63 billion. Volume helped — 1.87 million tons sold, up 4.3% sequentially and 15.6% year over year — but price did more of the work. Average selling price per ton sold reached $2,815, up 8.2% sequentially and 24.0% from a year earlier, as carbon steel prices rose. Without the U.S. border wall project, sequential tons were up 0.6%, against management's expectation of a 2% to 4% decline, and the 15.6% year-over-year shipment gain exceeded the 10.1% industry increase Reliance cites from the Metals Service Center Institute.

LIFO expense, not demand, decided the margin line

Gross profit of $1.45 billion was up 40.9%, and Reliance called it the second-highest quarterly result in its history, yet gross margin fell to 27.9% from 28.3%. The cause is inventory accounting: LIFO expense was $187.5 million, or 3.6% of sales, versus $112.5 million in the second quarter and $25.0 million a year earlier, as carbon steel replacement costs climbed faster than planned. LIFO cost $2.74 per diluted share against the $1.10 management had assumed, a $1.64 shortfall, and the company still cleared its guidance range. Reported diluted EPS was $7.84, with impairment, settlement charges and their tax effect bridging that to the $8.02 adjusted figure. On a FIFO basis, pretax income was $731.7 million, up 164.7% from a year earlier, with a 31.6% gross margin.

The border wall contract now moves the consolidated numbers

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security project added $0.74 per share, above the roughly $0.60 management expected, and the release attributes 9.4% of the year-over-year and 3.7% of the sequential tons growth to it. According to the release, the project's below-average operating costs per ton added 40 basis points to year-over-year pretax margin while diluting gross margin. Chief Executive Karla Lewis said the contract "continued to ramp and delivered another meaningful contribution to third quarter earnings."

Buybacks, a raised authorization and a higher dividend

Operating cash flow was $212.0 million and free cash flow $133.0 million, after a working-capital build Reliance tied to shipment volumes and higher metals prices. The company returned about $109 million to stockholders: $63.8 million of dividends and $44.7 million of repurchases at an average of about $395 a share. On October 20 the board lifted the repurchase authorization to $2.5 billion with no expiration, following $3.4 billion of buybacks since 2021 at an average of about $236, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 payable December 4 to holders of record November 20. Cash stood at $246.0 million against $1.6 billion of total debt, with net debt to EBITDA at 0.8 times.

Fourth-quarter guidance steps below the third quarter

Management guided fourth-quarter non-GAAP diluted EPS to $7.40 to $7.60, including $1.64 per share of LIFO expense on $112.5 million and roughly $0.70 per share from border wall shipments. Tons sold are expected up 13.5% to 15.5% year over year with a 9.5% contribution from the project, or up 4.0% to 6.0% without it, and down 5.5% to 7.5% sequentially on seasonality. Average selling price is guided up 1.0% to 3.0% sequentially. Both ends of the EPS range sit below the $8.02 just reported, and the release describes the outlook as up over 200% year over year.

Trade policy and a single contract frame the risk

Reliance's risk language cites domestic and international trade policy uncertainty and the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine as threats to supply and to the macro backdrop. The quarter also shows how much rides on inventory costing: a $1.64 per-share LIFO variance was absorbed without breaking guidance, which would work in reverse if steel prices fell. The release does not give the border wall contract's total value or remaining obligations, does not say how much of the $2.5 billion authorization will be used, and offers no consensus comparison. Lewis said "customer optimism remains high and strengthens across infrastructure, semiconductor, general manufacturing, and aerospace." The next scheduled disclosure is the earnings call on October 22, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.