Nucor nets $2B in 2024

Nucor Corp., a maker of recycled-content steel and steel products and operator of the David J. Joseph (DJJ) network of scrap yards, has reported net earnings attributable to its shareholders of $785 million in last year’s fourth quarter and $2.03 billion for all of 2024.

The quarterly figure is up 214 percent compared with the $250 million earned in the previous quarter is up 173 percent from the $287 million earned in the fourth quarter of 2023.

For the full year 2024, Nucor’s $2.03 billion in shareholder earnings compares with more than $4.52 billion earned in 2023, a decline of about 55 percent.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based metals producer reports that its raw materials segment, which includes the DJJ metals recycling network, earned $57 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, which contrasts with a $14 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The profits in the Nucor raw materials segment also signify a rebound from last year’s third quarter, when that segment lost $66.3 million, with the company citing in part a “noncash impairment charge.”

In its electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills segment, Nucor's average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used in the fourth quarter of 2024 was $381, a 1 percent increase compared with $378 in the prior quarter, but a 4 percent decrease compared with $397 per ton paid in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used in the full year 2024 was $394, a 6 percent decrease compared to $421 in the full year 2023, according to Nucor.

“I want to thank our teammates for making 2024 the safest year in Nucor history, during an active year of construction projects and ramp-ups that are advancing our growth strategy,” Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian says.

"While steel demand softened throughout 2024, market conditions are starting to improve and should gain momentum as we work our way into 2025. The United States economy is still on the front end of several steel-intensive megatrends, and as America’s largest and most diversified steel producer, Nucor is well positioned to supply those needs.”

Nucor has reports 2024 net sales of $30.73 billion, a decrease of 11 percent compared with net sales of $34.71 billion in 2023. The average sales price per ton for its steel in 2024 also decreased by 10 percent compared with the prior year.

This year, Nucor expects earnings in its steel mills and steel products segments to be similar in the first quarter of 2025 to earnings in last year’s fourth quarter.

“Earnings in the raw materials segment are expected to decrease in the first quarter of 2025 relative to the fourth quarter of 2024," the company says. "We expect higher corporate, administrative and tax impacts in the first quarter of 2025 than realized in the fourth quarter of 2024, which may result in lower net earnings overall.”