News · Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) · Basic Materials

Steel Dynamics rises after quarterly results show revenue and profit growth despite EPS miss

Session of October 19, 2026 · Published October 20, 2026 · 4 min read

What happened

Steel Dynamics (STLD) rose 1.9% on October 19, 2026, after third-quarter results showed revenue and profit growth even though earnings per share missed estimates. The stock closed at $245.17. It opened 2.2% above the previous close and trading volume was 1.8 times its 20-day average. The company reported net sales of $6.5 billion and operating income of $1.0 billion. Net income was $756 million, up from $403.7 million a year earlier. The quarter included record steel shipments of 3.8 million tons and $276 million of share repurchases, according to Zacks Investment Research and PRNewsWire.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 19, 2026, STLD closed at $245.17, up 1.9% on the day and 2.0% higher than 30 sessions earlier.

How big was the move

The stock’s 1.9% rise was 0.8 times a typical daily move for this stock and outperformed the Basic Materials sector median by 2.4 percentage points on the day, while the S&P 500 rose 0.4%. Over the last five sessions the stock rose 2.5%, while the S&P 500 over five sessions fell 1.5%. Trading activity was elevated, with volume 1.8 times its 20-day average, reflecting investor attention to the quarterly detail and the company’s disclosure of record steel shipments of 3.8 million tons.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 19, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 2.3%, so the latest move equals 0.8 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 4.5%) are unusual.

The technical picture

The stock traded above its short- and medium-term averages, with the stock 4.2% above its 20-day moving average and 2.6% above its 50-day moving average. It was 11.2% above its 200-day moving average and had spent 291 consecutive trading days above the 200-day average, while the 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend. The Relative Strength Index (14 days) registered 59 (between 30 and 70, a neutral range). The shares were 15.1% below the 52-week high, and the stock’s one-year gain of 71.9% left it 55.9 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500 for the period. Volatility was 37% annualized over 60 days, lower than 53% of its own readings over five years.

Closing price over the past year. STLD ends the period 13.3% below its 52-week high, above its 50-day average ($239.05) and above its 200-day average ($220.51).

Fundamentals and valuation

On a trailing four-quarter basis through June 30, 2026, Steel Dynamics reported revenue of $20.54 billion, which grew 19.8% from a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share of $11.03, which rose 61.0% from a year earlier. Gross margin was 14.6% (a year earlier: 12.5%) and operating margin was 10.6% (a year earlier: 7.5%). Free-cash-flow margin was 4.7% and return on invested capital was 10.8%. The balance sheet showed net debt of 1.2 times EBITDA and share count over one year decreased by 3.3%, supporting per-share metrics. The market value stood at $34.48 billion.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $6.1B, 33.4% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

Valuation measures show the stock at 22.2 times trailing earnings and 13.8 times expected earnings, with a free-cash-flow yield of 2.8%. Its price-to-trailing earnings ratio is higher than 86% of its own readings over the past five years (five-year median: 9.2 times earnings). PromtFinance scores rank Growth at 86 (Strong) and Momentum at 95 (Exceptional), while Revisions scored 12 (Very weak) and Quality 46 (Neutral), reflecting strong recent performance but limited upward analyst revisions.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Steel Dynamics reported on October 19, 2026, earnings per share of $5.26 against $5.48 expected, 4.0% below estimates, while the company’s release highlighted revenue and profit growth and adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 billion for the quarter. The company reported cash flow from operations of $846 million and finished the quarter with liquidity of $2.4 billion. The last report’s EPS missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, ending a streak of consecutive quarters beating estimates at 0, though the average surprise over the last four reports was 0.6% above estimates. Typical two-day reactions after recent reports had seen the stock rise 0.7%.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $3.69, against $2.00 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Analysts place a consensus price target of $271.17, 10.6% above the closing price, from 27 analysts; 52% of those provide a Buy rating and the consensus rating is Buy. The next scheduled report is January 25, 2027.

What to watch

January 25, 2027: next scheduled earnings report date.
Consensus price target of $271.17, 10.6% above the closing price, from 27 analysts.
Reported third-quarter shipments of 3.8 million tons and adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 billion for the quarter.
Share repurchases of $276 million during the quarter and liquidity of $2.4 billion at quarter end.
EPS for October 19, 2026, reported as $5.26 versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.48, 4.0% below estimates.

Full STLD analysis: scores, chart and financials →