Nucor Expects Q4 Earnings to Dip on Seasonality, Stays Bullish on 2026

Nucor Corporation NUE has provided an earnings outlook for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, in the range of $1.65 to $1.75 per share. While this guidance implies a sequential decline from the $2.63 reported in the third quarter of 2025, it indicates an improvement over $1.22 per share recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.  The company attributed the anticipated quarter-on-quarter decline across its businesses to seasonal factors and fewer shipping days. Within the steel mills segment, earnings are expected to moderate due to lower shipment volumes and margin pressure, particularly in sheet products.  The steel products segment is also forecast to see reduced profitability, reflecting lower volumes and higher average costs per ton, partly offset by improved realized pricing. Meanwhile, the raw materials segment is expected to underperform because of two planned outages at Nucor’s direct reduced iron facilities. Nucor Prioritizes Shareholders, Upbeat on 2026 DemandDespite the earnings softness, Nucor continues to emphasize shareholder returns. During the quarter, the company repurchased around 0.7 million shares at an average price of approximately $145.23, bringing total year-to-date repurchases to about 5.4 million shares at an average cost of roughly $128.66 per share. Including dividends, Nucor has returned about $1.2 billion to shareholders year to date in 2025.  Management struck an optimistic tone for 2026, highlighting materially higher order backlogs compared with the prior year, particularly across construction-related end markets such as energy, infrastructure, data centers and manufacturing. The company also expects a gradual improvement in market conditions, supported by favorable monetary, tax and trade policies. Nucor is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after market close on Jan. 26, 2026. Shares of NUE are up 27.3% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 33.6% rise. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchNUE Zacks Rank & Key PicksNUE carries a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Commercial Metals Company CMC, Ternium S.A. TX and Centerra Gold, Inc. CGAU. CMC sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while TX and CGAU carry a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMC’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $7.05 per share, indicating a 125.24%% year-over-year increase. Shares of CMC have surged 42.7% over the past six months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TX’s current fiscal-year earnings stands at $2.96 per share, implying a 84% year-over-year increase. Shares of TX have jumped 27.7% over the past 6 months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CGAU’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at 97 cents per share, indicating a 37% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average earnings surprise of 22% Zacks Naming Top 10 Stocks for 2026Want to be tipped off early to our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2026? History suggests their performance could be sensational.From 2012 (when our Director of Research Sheraz Mian assumed responsibility for the portfolio) through November, 2025, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,530.8%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +570.3%.Now Sheraz is combing through 4,400 companies to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold in 2026. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 5. Be First to New Top 10 Stocks >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nucor Corporation (NUE): Free Stock Analysis Report Ternium S.A. (TX): Free Stock Analysis Report Commercial Metals Company (CMC): Free Stock Analysis Report Centerra Gold Inc. (CGAU): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks