Press Release: Steel Dynamics Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results

FORT WAYNE, Ind., Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --

Third Quarter 2026 Performance Highlights:

-- Record steel shipments of 3.8 million tons

-- Net sales of $6.5 billion, operating income of $1.0 billion, and net income of $756 million

-- Adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 billion and cash flow from operations of $846 million

-- Liquidity of $2.4 billion

-- Share repurchases of $276 million, or one percent, of the company's common stock

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ/GS: STLD) today announced third quarter 2026 financial results. The company reported third quarter 2026 net sales of $6.5 billion and net income of $756 million, or $5.26 per diluted share. Comparatively, the company's sequential second quarter 2026 net income was $534 million, or $3.69 per diluted share and prior year third quarter net income was $404 million, or $2.74 per diluted share.

"Throughout the third quarter 2026, steel prices continued to improve and the teams executed well across our steel platform, driving a sequential quarterly increase in consolidated operating income of $306 million, or 44 percent," said Mark D. Millett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our steel fabrication platform also had a healthy performance as continued improving demand resulted in higher sequential shipments of 18 percent and increased earnings despite higher steel costs. Our three-year after-tax return on invested capital of 13 percent demonstrates the strength of our differentiated business model and disciplined capital allocation framework. Our disciplined approach to capital allocation continues to support investments in high-return strategic growth opportunities, meaningful shareholder returns, and financial performance that compares favorably with top-tier domestic manufacturers.

"During the third quarter, the domestic steel market remained strong, supported by steady demand, low customer inventories, and historically low import levels," said Millett. "Steel pricing strengthened, as lead times extended and spot availability tightened across flat-rolled and structural steel products. In addition, as coated flat rolled steel imports abated due to recent trade actions and demand remained strong, value-added flat-rolled steel spreads also expanded. In general, U.S. steel imports remain well below historical and prior-year levels, while improving manufacturing activity, onshoring, and continued investment in infrastructure, energy, healthcare, and computing support healthy steel consumption. Long-product steel demand remains extremely strong, particularly for structural steel and railroad rail. We believe sustained demand across our platforms, combined with favorable market conditions, positions us well moving forward.

"We continue to make meaningful progress at our aluminum operations as the team continues to commission, qualify, and ramp up our state-of-the-art aluminum flat-rolled products mill," continued Millett. "All three cold mills are now operational which provides us the ability to achieve our annual volume expectations, and the first of two Continuous Annealing and Solution Heat (CASH) lines is operating and is expected to ship finished automotive products before the end of the year. The second CASH line will be commissioned in the coming months and become operational early in the first quarter 2027. The team is successfully producing high-quality products for the industrial, beverage, and automotive markets, while continuing to expand its qualified customer base. Together with our broader investment initiatives across the company, aluminum represents an exciting avenue for continued growth and value creation."

Third Quarter 2026 Comments

Third quarter 2026 operating income for the company's steel operations was $1.0 billion, or 43 percent higher than sequential second quarter results, due to record steel shipments and metal spread expansion, as average realized steel selling prices increased and scrap raw material costs declined. The third quarter 2026 average external product selling price for the company's steel operations increased $102 sequentially to $1,400 per ton. The average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted at the company's steel mills decreased $8 per ton sequentially to $404 per ton. The energy, non-residential construction, automotive, and industrial sectors led steel demand in the quarter.

Third quarter 2026 operating income from the company's metals recycling operations was $33 million, or $15 million lower than sequential earnings, based on lower ferrous scrap pricing and metal spread contraction, combined with steady volume. Average third quarter realized ferrous scrap prices declined $15 per gross ton sequentially.

The company's steel fabrication operations generated operating income of $91 million in the third quarter 2026, higher than sequential second quarter results of $85 million, as increased shipments and improved average realized pricing more than offset higher steel raw material input costs. Customer order activity has continued to strengthen since the end of 2025, with the order backlog now 50 percent higher than a year ago and extending into the second quarter 2027. Demand was largely driven by commercial construction, manufacturing, warehouses, data centers, and healthcare. In addition, accelerating announcements of significant domestic manufacturing investments and increased reshoring activity, coupled with funding from the U.S. infrastructure program, are expected to provide meaningful support for demand across our product portfolio, including steel joists and deck products, as well as flat-rolled and long-product steel.

"Third quarter 2026 operating losses associated with the continued startup of the company's aluminum operations were $26 million, representing a 21 percent improvement compared to sequential second quarter results", said Millett. "Our Aluminum platform was EBITDA breakeven for the quarter. Aluminum flat rolled sheet product shipments were 55,000 metric tons in the third quarter 2026, and hot band production increased to 91,000 metric tons. Volumes were less than expected over a number of weeks, as yield losses increased at higher operating speeds due to quality impacts. The cause originated from the hot strip mill rolling coolant composition, which has been successfully changed, and no ongoing additional costs are expected from this matter. Since the change, the mill performance has been excellent in October. Looking ahead, we expect aluminum volumes and profitability to improve in the fourth quarter 2026 and throughout 2027, as startup costs subside, utilization and yields improve, and scrap content increases. Underlying demand for aluminum flat-rolled products across our targeted consumer sectors remains strong and is forecast to continue to grow."

Based on the company's differentiated business model and highly variable cost structure, the company generated cash flow from operations of $846 million during the quarter. The company also invested $150 million in capital investments, paid cash dividends of $76 million, and repurchased $276 million of its outstanding common stock, while maintaining liquidity of $2.4 billion as of September 30, 2026.

Year-to-Date September 30, 2026 Comparison

For the nine-months ended September 30, 2026, net income was $1.7 billion, or $11.72 per diluted share, with net sales of $17.8 billion, as compared to net income of $920 million, or $6.17 per diluted share, with net sales of $13.8 billion for the same period in 2025.

For the first nine-months of 2026 net sales increased 29 percent to $17.8 billion, and operating income increased 93 percent to $2.2 billion, when compared to the same period in 2025. Increased earnings were the result of higher realized pricing and shipments in the company's steel operations during the period. For the first nine-months of 2026 operating income from the company's steel operations was $2.3 billion, compared to $1.1 billion for the same prior year period. The average nine-months 2026 external selling price for the company's steel operations increased $216 to $1,299 per ton compared to the same prior year period, and the average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted at the company's steel mills increased to $404 per ton. For the first nine-months of 2026 operating income from the company's steel fabrication operations was $265 million, compared to $317 million in the prior year period due to higher raw material input costs. For the first nine-months of 2026 operating income from the company's metals recycling operations was $128 million, compared to $79 million in the prior year period, due to improved metal spreads and increased shipments.

The company achieved cash flow from operations of $1.4 billion in the first nine-months of 2026. The company also invested $411 million in capital investments, paid cash dividends of $225 million, and repurchased $591 million, or two percent, of its outstanding common stock.

Outlook

"Looking ahead to 2027 and beyond, we remain optimistic regarding the domestic steel and aluminum industries," stated Millett. "We expect steel and aluminum consumption to benefit from continued investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, and data centers, along with improving broader economic activity. These demand drivers, combined with a supportive U.S. trade environment and reduced unfairly traded import competition, should provide a healthy backdrop for domestic steel and aluminum product producers. While additional domestic steelmaking and aluminum capacity may enter the market in the coming years, we believe improving demand and supportive trade policy will support healthy industry dynamics.

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October 19, 2026 16:30 ET (20:30 GMT)