Nucor shares slide nearly 4% in premarket trading after its Q4 guidance lags consensus

Nucor shares slide nearly 4% in premarket trading after its Q4 guidance lags consensus.

The company offered guidance for the fourth quarter that lagged consensus estimates. Nucor said it expects per-share earnings of $7.65 to $7.75 in which would be a record quarterly number, beating the previous record of $7.28 set in the third quarter of 2021. However, the FactSet consensus is for EPS of $8.18.

"Steel mills segment earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021 remain robust and are expected to be comparable to the third quarter of 2021 despite lower volumes caused by year-end seasonality," the company said in a statement. It said steel products are expected to show higher earnings as demand in nonresidential construction markets is strong, while raw materials segment earnings are expected to decline from the third quarter due to margin compression in direct reduced iron facilities.