Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Releases Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 5.550-5.650 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 6.170. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $294.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Nucor from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Nucor from $224.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.79.

Nucor Trading Down 6.1%

NYSE:NUE opened at $249.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $254.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.83. The company has a market capitalization of $56.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor has a 52-week low of $131.32 and a 52-week high of $280.11.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 18.52 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,212,340.76. This represents a 19.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Nucor

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nucor projected third-quarter EPS of $5.55–$5.65, above the $2.63 reported in the year-ago quarter and slightly above its $5.04 second-quarter result. Management expects stronger performance in its steel mills and steel products businesses, supported by improved realized prices and volumes. Nucor Expects Q3 Earnings To Be Higher YoY, Sequentially
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, payable November 10 to shareholders of record September 30. It is Nucor’s 214th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, reinforcing the company’s shareholder-return record. Nucor Announces 214th Consecutive Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Freedom Broker reaffirmed a “hold” rating but reduced its price target from $305 to $285, still implying potential upside from the current trading level. Broader analyst targets remain mixed but generally above the share price.
• Negative Sentiment: The central pressure on NUE is that the Q3 EPS forecast fell below Wall Street expectations, variously reported near $5.99–$6.17. The shortfall overshadowed the projected year-over-year and sequential improvement. Nucor Announces Guidance for the Third Quarter of 2026 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also reacted to higher costs and the absence of a roughly $130 million cash refund that benefited the prior quarter, making the upcoming results comparison more difficult even with firm steel prices and demand. Steel Dynamics issued similarly disappointing guidance, intensifying concerns across the steel sector. Steel Dynamics and Nucor Fall as Guidance Disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: A broader market backdrop of higher oil prices and bond yields also weighed on equities, while reported insider activity showed selling and no insider purchases over the past six months.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel and steel products company. It manufactures carbon, alloy and stainless steel products, including sheet, plate, bar, structural steel, rail, wire rod, rebar and merchant bar. The company also produces steel joists, deck, beams, piling, wire products, fasteners, grating, metal building systems and other fabricated steel products.

Nucor operates an integrated network of electric arc furnace steel mills, recycling facilities and downstream manufacturing operations.