Nucor Stock Tumbles On Weak Guidance Due To Price, Margin Pressures: Retail's Divided

Shares of Nucor Corp. (NUE) fell more than 3% during Thursday’s after-hours trading session, extending the regular session’s decline of over 1% as the company’s weak first-quarter guidance disappointed investors.

Nucor guided for earnings per share (EPS) of $0.50 to $0.60, far below the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.05.

Analysts expect Nucor to post revenue of $7.29 billion in Q1, which would be a decline of over 10% year-on-year, compared to $8.14 billion in the year-ago period.

“We expect earnings in the steel products segment to decrease in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 due primarily to lower average selling prices,” Nucor said in its guidance.

The company says its topline and earnings could be suppressed due to pricing and margin pressures.

“The earnings of the raw materials segment are expected to decrease in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 due to lower margins at our DRI facilities,” it added.

Further, it anticipates a bigger tax impact in Q1 than what it recognized in Q4 in the fiscal year 2024.

Reacting to the update, retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Nucor hovered in the ‘neutral’ territory, showing caution among investors.

NUE sentiment and message volume March 21, 2025, as of 2 am ET | Source: Stocktwits

One bearish user called it “brutal.”

Data from Koyfin shows the average price target for Nucor is $153.65, implying a nearly 19% upside from Thursday’s closing price.

Of the 15 brokerage calls, there are nine ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’ recommendations, while six analysts have a ‘Hold’ rating.

Nucor’s stock has gained nearly 11% year-to-date.

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