Steel Dynamics reports Q2 EPS $2.72, consensus $2.67

Reports Q2 revenue $4.6B, consensus $4.43B. “The teams delivered a solid performance, achieving second quarter 2024 operating income of $559 million and adjusted EBITDA of $686 million,” said Mark D. Millett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Given our proven through-cycle cash generation, we also maintained strong liquidity of $2.7 billion, while also investing $419 million in our organic growth projects and distributing $382 million to our shareholders through cash dividends and share repurchases. Across the company, our teams performed well, while keeping each other safe. “Underlying steel demand was stable in the second quarter,” continued Millett. “However, earnings declined sequentially due to lower realized selling values in our steel operations which more than offset our improved earnings from metals recycling and steady earnings from our steel fabrication business. During the quarter, we experienced customer order inconsistency within the steel platform despite the steady underlying demand dynamics, as scrap prices further declined and customers continued to manage to very low inventory levels. Additionally, the U.S. also experienced a significant increase in steel imports, especially within coated flat rolled steel products. “As fundamental steel demand remains constructive, customer inventories remain incredibly low, and scrap prices have steadied, we believe steel pricing has reached a pivot point to the upside. In support, we have seen a positive trend in steel order activity in recent weeks, especially for our flat rolled steel coated products.”