Nucor posts third-quarter earnings of $5.80 a share, $0.18 below expectations, on $11.25 billion revenue

Revenue of $11.25 billion beat forecasts, and the board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 a share.

Nucor reported third-quarter earnings of $5.80 a share on a GAAP basis, meaning under the standard US accounting rules. That was $0.18 below expectations. Revenue came in at $11.25 billion, above the $10.94 billion expected. At 4:55 PM Eastern, after the market had closed, the shares stood at $258.00.

Chair and chief executive Leon Topalian said demand was robust across the company's key end markets. He pointed to $2.7 billion of free cash flow over the first nine months of the year, meaning cash left after running costs and capital spending. He also cited progress on the West Virginia sheet mill and the Berkeley galvanizing line. The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.56 a share, payable November 10, 2026, to stockholders of record as of September 30, 2026.

Nucor expects fourth-quarter earnings to be roughly in line with or modestly higher than the third quarter. Earnings in steel mills and steel products are expected to be stable. Earnings in raw materials are expected to be slightly lower, due to lower prices for direct reduced iron (DRI), a decline the company had already flagged for that segment.

The $5.80 result is above the range of $5.55 to $5.65 a share that Nucor gave on September 17. The miss is therefore against expectations, not against the company's own guidance. The quarter also did not include the $130 million cash refund and the $61 million gain from the valuation of Helion that lifted the second quarter, which makes the underlying trend harder to read. Whether steel mills and steel products can offset the softness in raw materials is the point to watch.