Nucor Corp projects lower Q1 2025 profit amid weak steel prices

Nucor Corp on Thursday forecast first-quarter 2025 profit below estimates as a weak steel pricing environment continues to weigh on its average selling prices, sending the steelmaker's shares down 4 per cent after the bell.

On an adjusted basis, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company expects first-quarter earnings to be in the range of 50 cents to 60 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimate of $1.09 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Nucor, with facilities in the US, Canada and Mexico, expects the earnings in its larger steel mills segment to be in line with the previous quarter.

However, it forecasts a sequential decline in earnings in its steel products segment due to lower average selling prices.

Peers US Steel and Steel Dynamics also forecast lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings earlier this week, amid a prolonged decline in steel prices.

However, the sector awaits improvements in the pricing environment this year, buoyed by US president Donald Trump's implementation of additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.