Nucor Corporation NUE is slated to come up with third-quarter 2026 results after the closing bell on Oct. 26.
The steel giant surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 9.8%, on average. NUE is expected to have benefited from favorable steel prices and higher earnings across its Steel Mills and Steel Products segments in the third quarter.
NUE’s shares have jumped 86.1% in the past year, outperforming the Zacks Steel Producers industry’s 58.6% rise.
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Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
What do NUE’s Revenue Estimates Indicate?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE’s third-quarter consolidated sales is currently pegged at $10,531.4 million, calling for an increase of 23.6% from the year-ago quarter’s tally.
Factors Shaping NUE’s Q3 Results
Higher earnings across Steel Mills and Steel Products units are likely to have aided NUE’s performance in the third quarter. Nucor is expected to have benefited from higher average selling prices.
Nucor, last month, said that it expects improved sequential results in the September quarter driven by higher Steel Mills and Steel Products earnings, partly offset by weaker performance in the Raw Materials unit due to lower pricing and shipments.
The Steel Mills segment is expected to have benefited from higher average selling prices and stable volumes. Higher volumes and pricing are likely to have supported the Steel Products segment.
Meanwhile, U.S. steel prices are rising on major steel mills' price increases, extending lead times and tightening supply, partly due to plant outages and reduced imports driven by tariffs. The upswing has led to benchmark hot-rolled coil (“HRC”) prices surging to above $1,300 per short ton. Rallying HRC prices have created a favorable landscape for American steel producers.
Higher selling prices are expected to have supported Nucor’s performance in the quarter to be reported. Our estimate for third-quarter average sales price per ton for the company’s steel mills unit stands at $1,157, indicating an 11.5% year-over-year increase.
Nucor Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Nucor Corporation price-eps-surprise | Nucor Corporation Quote
What Our Model Unveils for NUE Stock
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Nucor this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.
Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for NUE is 0.00%. The Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are both pegged at $5.71. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: NUE currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.
Basic Materials Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here are some companies in the basic materials space you may want to consider, as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX, scheduled to release earnings on Oct. 27, has an Earnings ESP of +0.12% and carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The consensus estimate for FCX’s earnings for the third quarter is currently pegged at 78 cents.
DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD, scheduled to release earnings on Nov. 3, has an Earnings ESP of +1.35%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DD’s earnings for the third quarter is currently pegged at $1.86. DD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Huntsman Corporation HUN, slated to release earnings on Nov. 2, has an Earnings ESP of +49.86% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.
The consensus mark for HUN’s third-quarter earnings is currently pegged at 7 cents.
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Nucor Corporation (NUE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).