U.S. Steel's Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates in Q3

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United States Steel Corporation X logged a profit of $119 million or 48 cents for third-quarter 2024, down around 60% from $299 million or $1.20 per share in the year-ago quarter. Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 56 cents, down from $1.40 a year ago. The figure, however, topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 45 cents.

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Revenues fell around 13% year over year to $3,853 million in the reported quarter but beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,736 million.

The company reported total steel shipments of 3,516,000 tons for the reported quarter, down around 7% year over year. It was below our estimate of 3,619,000 tons.

United States Steel Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

United States Steel Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | United States Steel Corporation Quote

X’s Segment Highlights

Flat-Rolled: The segment recorded an EBIT of $106 million in the reported quarter, down from $225 million a year ago. Steel shipments in the segment fell roughly 11.7% to 1,905,000 tons. Average realized price per ton in the unit was $993, down around 4.2% year over year. It surpassed our estimate of $940.

Mini Mill: The segment recorded a loss of $28 million in the quarter against a profit of $42 million in the year-ago quarter. Shipments were 602,000 tons, up around 7.3%. Average realized price per ton was $800, down around 11.2% year over year. It also lagged our estimate of $806.

U.S. Steel Europe: The segment posted a profit of $7 million against a loss of $13 million in the year-ago quarter. Shipments in the segment fell around 6.2% to 899,000 tons. Average realized price per ton for the unit was $802, down around 5.2% year over year. It beat our estimate of $750.

Tubular: The segment posted a loss of $4 million in the reported quarter against a profit of $87 million a year ago. Shipments rose roughly 5.7% to 110,000 tons. Average realized price per ton for the unit was $1,805, down roughly 38.3% year over year. It lagged our estimate of $1,886.

U.S. Steel's Financials

At the end of the quarter, the company's cash and cash equivalents were $1,773 million, down around 45% from the prior-year quarter. Long-term debt was $4,068 million, down 1.5%.

X’s Outlook

U.S. Steel predicts fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA to be between $225 million and $275 million. Its North American Flat-Rolled unit results are expected to decline modestly, owing to lower lagging average selling price projections for the quarter. The company expects Mini Mill segment results to improve, even after accounting for $25 million in related start-up and one-time construction expenditures at BR2, reflecting an estimated increase in average selling prices. In Europe, results are likely to be lower due to a lack of favorable CO2 allocations and weak underlying demand and pricing. The Tubular segment results are projected to be roughly flat with the third quarter.