Nucor Expects Strong Q2 Earnings on Steel Mills Segment Gains

Nucor Corporation NUE announced guidance for the second quarter of 2025 ending July 5. The company expects that earnings will increase across all three of its segments. The steel mills segment is projected to witness the largest growth owing to higher average selling prices.

Nucor expects to log earnings in the range of $2.55 to $2.65 per share in the second quarter. It reported earnings per share of 67 cents and $2.68 in the first quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2024, respectively.

Earnings in the steel products segment are forecasted to rise sequentially in the second quarter, aided by stable overall pricing, higher volumes and lower average costs per ton. The raw materials segment is also predicted to witness increased earnings in the quarter.

Nucor repurchased approximately 1.8 million shares at an average price of $111.89 per share in the second quarter. It bought back approximately 4 million shares year to date at an average price of $123.75 per share. In this year, till date, Nucor has returned approximately $755 million to its stockholders in the form of share repurchases and dividend payments.

NUE stock has lost 18.2% over the past year compared with the industry’s 25.9% decline.

NUE’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

NUE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Akzo Nobel N.V. AKZOY, Newmont Corporation NEM and Balchem Corporation BCPC. While AKZOY currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), NEM and BCPC carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Akzo Nobel’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.68 per share, implying a 20% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while missing once.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEM’s current-year earnings is pegged at $4.18 per share, indicating a 20.1% year-over-year rise.Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 32.41%. NEM’s shares have gained 39.1% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCPC’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $5.15 per share, indicating a rise of 31% from year-ago levels. The company’s earnings beat the consensus estimate in two of the trailing four quarters while missing the rest. Its shares have gained 6.8% in the past year.
 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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