Nucor CorporationNUE
NYSE•Basic Materials•Steel
Nucor Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. The company operates in three segments: Steel Mills, Steel Products, and Raw Materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; and bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products. This segment sells its products to steel service centers, fabricators, and manufacturers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses. The Steel Products segment offers steel joists and joist girders, steel decks, and galvanized torque tubes for use in solar arrays, hollow structural section steel tubing, electrical conduit, fabricated concrete reinforcing steel, cold finished steel, steel fasteners, steel grating and expanded metal, wire and wire mesh, metal building systems, insulated metal panels, steel racking, overhead doors, and utility towers and structures for communications and energy transmission. This segment is also involved in the piling distribution business. The Raw Materials segment produces direct reduced iron (DRI); brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron, hot briquetted iron, and DRI; supplies ferro-alloys; processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal; and engages in the natural gas production and industrial gas business. This segment sells its ferrous scrap to electric arc furnace steel mills and foundries for manufacturing process; and nonferrous scrap metal to aluminum can producers, secondary aluminum smelters, steel mills and other processors, and consumers of various nonferrous metals. Nucor Corporation was founded in 1905 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Nucor Corporation (NUE) reported trailing twelve months revenue of $34.16B as of April 2026, a 12.3% increase year-over-year. Quarterly revenue reached $9.50B, reflecting continued top-line momentum.
Nucor Corporation generated $2.33B in TTM net income, with quarterly EBITDA of $1.10B. The operating margin expanded from 3.6% to 11.5%, suggesting improving cost efficiency and pricing discipline.
The spread between operating margin (11.5%) and net margin (7.8%) indicates tight cost control with minimal non-operating drag. Net margin has improved from 2.0% a year ago, signaling stronger bottom-line efficiency.
NUE trades at a P/E of 24.8x (in line with broad market averages) and a P/S of 1.7x. The price-to-book ratio of 2.7x reflects a moderate premium to book value.
The company generated $225.00M in free cash flow over the trailing twelve months, a 145.5% increase year-over-year, indicating cash generation ability. The balance sheet shows $35.63B in total assets with $6.88B in long-term debt against $21.45B in stockholders equity for a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.3, a conservative capital structure. Data based on the most recent quarterly reports.
Competitive analysis based on 21 quarters of fundamental data
Operating margins are positive at ~8.1% on average, but show some variability — pricing power may be sensitive to market conditions.
ROE is positive at ~11.6% on average, adequate but below the threshold typically associated with wide moats.
Only 4 of the last 8 quarters had positive FCF — the business may require external capital to sustain operations.
Revenue has been flat or declining over recent quarters, which may indicate eroding demand or competitive pressure.
Data-driven red flags and warnings across 21 quarters
Margins are stable or improving at ~9.8% — no sign of cost or pricing stress.
Free cash flow has been negative in 4 of the last 8 quarters — earnings are not translating to cash.
D/E ratio is 0.3 — conservative capital structure with low financial risk.
TTM revenue has contracted 10.3% — significant decline indicating deteriorating demand.
4 of the last 8 quarters had negative FCF — inconsistent cash generation raises sustainability concerns.
Shares decreased 4.5% — net buybacks are reducing shares outstanding and boosting per-share value.