A steelmaker and one of North America's largest recyclers, Nucor melts scrap metal in electric arc furnaces to make sheet, plate, structural, and bar steel, plus joists, deck, rebar, and metal buildings for construction. Its roots stretch back to 1905, when Ransom E. Olds, the creator of Oldsmobile, founded the REO Motor Car Company. After a detour into nuclear services, it took the name Nucor in 1972 — a contraction of "Nuclear Corporation" — before pivoting to steel.
Nucor Q2 2026 net income nearly doubled to $1.16B as steel mills metal margins expanded and a $130M cost refund boosted results.
Steel mills earnings more than doubled, driving the sharpest quarterly profit since 2022. rose 23% to $10.4B and widened 5.1 points to 19.6%, aided by higher steel prices, record shipments, and a $130M prior-period raw material refund. The recovery is taking hold, but steel products margins are now compressing under the same input costs that lifted the mills.
Key takeaways
rose 92% to $1.16B from $603M a year earlier, and rose 94% to $5.04, as the steel mills benefited from higher metal margins and a 12% increase in total tons shipped.
The steel mills 's earnings more than doubled, driven by a 10% increase in average selling price per ton and a $130M reduction in cost of products sold from prior-period raw material refunds.
expanded to 19.6% from 14.5% a year ago, reflecting the higher metal margins and the $130M refund, partially offset by $120M in for new facilities.
Section summaries
Management's Discussion and Analysis
Nucor Q2 2026 net earnings rose 92% to $1.16B on higher steel mills metal margins, volumes, and a $130M cost refund.
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Consolidated grew 23% to $10.4B, driven by a 10% increase in average selling price per ton and a 12% increase in total tons shipped.
Steel products earnings declined as higher volumes and modestly higher prices were more than offset by from increased steel input costs.
rose 91% to $1.40B, and turned positive at $829M after a $222M outflow a year earlier, supported by the earnings recovery.
stood at $2.69B in cash and short-term investments, and management expects 2026 to decline to about $2.5B as the West Virginia sheet mill and NTS expansion near completion.
What changed
Q1 2026 flagged steel mills pricing and shipments to watch; Q2 delivered a 10% increase in average selling price per ton and a 12% increase in total tons shipped, with management's for higher realized pricing and stable volumes proving accurate.
Steel products joist and deck margins, flagged in Q1 after input-cost compression held earnings near flat, weakened further in Q2 as higher steel input costs more than offset volume and price gains, causing a earnings decline.
The raw materials trend flagged in Q1 did not recur; Q2 earnings increased on improved DRI profitability and higher scrap brokerage prices and shipments, with no new impairment charges mentioned.
The $130M prior-period raw material refund, which reduced cost of products sold in the steel mills , was a new development not foreshadowed in earlier filings and materially lifted and .
What to watch
Q3 2026 steel products margins, particularly in joist and deck, as higher steel input costs continue to compress profitability despite volume growth.
Q3 2026 steel mills average selling price per ton and metal margins after the Q2 peak, and whether the $130M refund effect is one-time or recurring.
2026 against the $2.5B estimate as the West Virginia sheet mill and NTS expansion projects complete.
Raw materials DRI facility earnings trend after the Q2 improvement, and any resumption of charges.
Steel mills earnings more than doubled, benefiting from higher average selling prices, increased volumes, and a $130M reduction in cost of products sold from prior-period raw material refunds.
Steel products earnings declined as higher volumes and modestly higher prices were more than offset by from increased steel input costs.
Raw materials earnings increased, primarily due to improved profitability at direct reduced iron (DRI) facilities and higher selling prices and shipments in scrap brokerage.
expanded to 20% from 14%, aided by higher metal margins and the $130M refund, partially offset by $120M in for new facilities.
Liquidity remained strong with $2.69B in cash and short-term investments; are estimated at $2.50B for 2026, focused on a West Virginia sheet mill and Nucor Towers & Structures expansion.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Nucor sees no material change in interest rate risk since year-end 2025 and reports modest commodity-derivative sensitivity.
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Interest rate risk is managed through a mix of variable- and fixed-rate debt; no interest rate swaps were outstanding at July 4, 2026.
Commodity price risk centers on scrap steel, other metals, alloys, and natural gas, with the company trying to pass through raw-material costs to product prices.
Nucor’s DRI facilities in Trinidad and Louisiana provide operational flexibility and help manage input costs, especially when prime scrap demand rises.
Natural gas produced from Nucor’s operations is sold to third parties to partially offset gas price exposure at the Louisiana DRI facility and U.S. steel mills.
Derivatives are used to hedge portions of natural gas, steel, scrap, aluminum, and copper price risk; at quarter-end, included $2 million in unrealized net-of-tax losses on these instruments.
A hypothetical 10% adverse commodity price move would reduce pre-tax earnings by $13 million (natural gas) and $18 million (other commodities); a 25% move would reduce earnings by $31 million and $43 million, respectively.
Foreign currency exposure arises mainly from operations in Canada, Europe, and Mexico; open foreign-currency derivative contracts at July 4, 2026 were insignificant.
Nucor is from time to time a party to various lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. With respect to all such lawsuits, claims and proceedings, we record reserves when it is probable a liability has been incurred and the amoun…
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Nucor is from time to time a party to various lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. With respect to all such lawsuits, claims and proceedings, we record reserves when it is probable a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. We do not believe that any of these proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, would be expected to have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position or cash flows. Nucor maintains liability insurance with self-insurance limits for certain risks.
During 2022, Nucor Steel Louisiana, our DRI facility located in St. James Parish, Louisiana, received allegations of violations of the Clean Air Act from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. A combined settlement is currently being negotiated with the United States Department of Justice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. We do not believe that any aggregate settlement for these allegations will be material to Nucor.
There were no other proceedings that were pending or contemplated under federal, state or local environmental laws that the Company reasonably believes may result in monetary sanctions of at least $1.0 million (the threshold chosen by Nucor as permitted by Item 103 of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the "Exchange Act"), and which Nucor believes is reasonably designed to result in disclosure of any such proceeding that is material to its business or financial condition).
There have been no material changes in Nucor’s risk factors from those included in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Nucor’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. 31 Table of Contents
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There have been no material changes in Nucor’s risk factors from those included in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Nucor’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.
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