Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) on Wednesday disclosed guidance for fourth-quarter 2025 earnings, projecting $1.65 to $1.69 per diluted share compared to the consensus of $2.15.
This compares with $2.74 in the third-quarter 2025 and $1.36 in the fourth-quarter 2024.
The company sees a decline in quarterly steel operations’ profitability mainly due to lower average selling prices and reduced volumes from seasonal demand and extended maintenance outages at flat-rolled steel mills, which cut production by an estimated 140,000–150,000 tons.
Average indexed hot-rolled steel prices fell more than $70 per ton from July to October 2025, reducing sequential selling values due to lagged commercial pricing.
Recently, however, flat-rolled steel prices have started to recover as import volumes decrease and underlying demand remains steady.
Moreover, Steel Dynamics expects metals recycling and steel fabrication earnings to decline sequentially due to seasonal shipment drops, maintenance outages, and lower scrap prices.
Despite this, a strong order backlog into the second …