Nucor predicts slight earnings bump in Q2

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Corp. says it expects its second-quarter earnings to be in the range of $5.45 to $5.55 per diluted share. That represents an increase from net earnings of $4.45 per diluted share in the previous quarter but would be down from the record $9.67 per share earned in a record 2022 second quarter.

The scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker says it expects earnings in its steel mills segment to improve compared with the previous quarter “primarily due to margin expansion at our sheet mills.”

Nucor expects its downstream fabrication steel products segment to deliver strong results in this year’s second quarter which the company says was comparable to the first quarter.

Results in the Nucor raw materials segment, which includes the David J. Joseph Co. network of scrap yards, are expected to improve in this year’s second quarter. The company does not attribute that to the scrap market, however, citing instead “the improved profitability of our direct-reduced iron (DRI) facilities.”

The company’s final second-quarter results will be discussed in an earnings conference call July 25.

Nucor also has announced it intends to add to its downstream steel fabrication capacity. The company says its Towers & Structures business unit will build its second utility structures production facility in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Earlier this year, Nucor announced plans to build its first such production facility in Decatur, Alabama. The new facility will be adjacent to the Nucor Steel Crawfordsville steel mill in the Hoosier State.

“With this second utility structure production facility, we are expanding our Towers & Structures business and positioning the company to meet the growing demand for utility infrastructure from renewable energy projects, electric vehicle (EV) charging network expansion and grid hardening,” Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian says.

“As one of the most sustainable steelmakers in the world, we believe energy infrastructure should be built with low-embodied-carbon American steel.”

Federal legislation passed in the last few years, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, provide nearly half a trillion dollars in funding and incentives to build out a "clean energy future," creating increasing demand for transmission and other utility structures.

Demand also is driven by infrastructure damage stemming from natural disasters, the replacement of aging utility infrastructure and population growth, according to Nucor.