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Nucor

NYSE: NUE · USD

Nucor (NUE) Economic Moat Analysis—

Avantages concurrentiels, preuves datées et risques d’érosion.

Analyse à actualiser

Absent avantage concurrentiel

The supplied passages establish substantial operating capabilities, but do not demonstrate a durable economic moat. Nucor's integrated raw-material supply and production footprint provide sourcing flexibility and supply coordination. However, similar competing offerings, competitive bidding, market-indexed pricing and realized margin compression limit customer dependence and pricing power. Higher prices, volumes and cash generation in 2026 strengthen the operating picture without establishing a lasting competitive advantage; tariffs and a procurement refund also supported results.

Cost advantage

Existing raw-material integration and proximity between some production facilities provide supply coordination and sourcing flexibility. These are current operating strengths, but the passages do not demonstrate a sustained delivered-cost advantage over competitors. Management's expected benefits from additional capital projects remain potential advantages.

Durabilité
Installed facilities and internal supply relationships can persist, but their longevity does not establish durable relative cost superiority. Improved DRI performance supports operating usefulness rather than proof of a moat.
Concurrents
Comparaison non établie
Risques d’érosion
Well-capitalized suppliers offer similar products and services. Raw-material and steel prices remain market driven, downstream input costs have outpaced selling prices, and capital projects carry continuing start-up costs. Trade-policy support can change.
Ce qui invaliderait la thèse
A sustained relative cost advantage would require evidence of lower comparable delivered costs across a steel cycle. The operating-strength thesis would weaken if internal sourcing ceased to improve availability or economics, DRI performance deteriorated persistently, or completed projects failed to reach comparable facility utilization. Evidence of persistent cost leadership and customer gains through weaker markets would challenge the no-moat verdict.
Preuves (5) · Contre-preuves (6)

Évolution depuis la dernière analyse

  • No comparable previous version; previous accepted analysis was null.

Limites de l’analyse

  • Only the supplied issuer filings were assessed. Their dates are filing dates: February 25, August 12 and March 27, 2026, respectively. Operating periods and disclosure dates are distinguished.
  • No competing steel company is actually named as a competitor in the supplied passages. Competitor arrays are therefore empty; subsidiaries, directors' other affiliations and unnamed compensation comparator groups do not establish competitor coverage.
  • Comparable production costs, freight economics, market-share trends and sustained through-cycle competitive returns are missing. Integration and sourcing flexibility do not alone prove relative cost leadership.
  • Customer retention is assessed indirectly from shipments, backlog and supply contracts. Customer cohorts, renewal rates, switching costs and realized price premiums are not disclosed.
  • Reported 2026 improvement includes a $130 million procurement refund. Management also attributes reduced imports to trade protection; neither establishes an intrinsic durable moat.
  • Governance and compensation policies are disclosed, but full ownership compliance, detailed incentive payout calculations and long-term project returns are not established by these passages. The advisory compensation vote proposal is not treated as an adopted vote result.
  • The no-moat verdict reflects evidenced competitive and pricing constraints, not a conclusion that Nucor is financially weak. New-project earnings benefits and third-quarter 2026 pricing expectations remain prospective.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse

Ratios calculés à partir des publications annuelles. Une valeur manquante reste indisponible. Les graphiques détaillés sont accessibles dans les autres onglets.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse
PériodeGross marginOperating marginROICFCF margin
202130.2%——12.6%
202230.1%——19.6%
202322.5%——14.1%
202413.3%——2.6%
202511.9%——-0.6%

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Management—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Sources et méthode

Analyse à actualiser · Mis à jour 17/10/2026 · Version 5

Interprétation IA fondée sur des extraits vérifiés. Les déclarations de l’entreprise et les limites de couverture restent explicites.

Méthode quality-scores-2 : six catégories de même poids. Le score global exige une couverture complète. Les données manquantes ne valent pas zéro. Les évaluations qualitatives sont des interprétations sourcées, pas des probabilités. 3/6 · 23/10/2026

Moat—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Prévisibilité71

Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.

Nondeclining revenue years (%)
50.00
Revenue growth volatility (pp)
12.30
Positive FCF years (%)
80.00
FCF margin volatility (pp)
7.50

Solidité financière66

Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.

debtFcfGrade
0.00
netDebtEbitGrade
64.49
interestCoverageGrade
100.00
currentRatioGrade
100.00
Net debt / operating income (x)
1.78
Current ratio (x)
2.94

Allocation du capital84

Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.

3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
17.68
3-year average dilution (%)
-4.19
3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
0.40
cashConversionGrade
66.49

Qualité du management—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Preuves

• Tubular products – The Nucor Tubular Products (“NTP”) group has seven tubular facilities that are located in close proximity to Nucor’s sheet mills.

Business / tubular production facilities and proximity · Dépôt 25/02/2026

NCF obtains most of its steel from the Nucor bar mills, ensuring consistent quality and supply through all market conditions.

Business / cold-finished steel internal supply · Dépôt 25/02/2026

Our investment in DRI production facilities and scrap brokerage and processing businesses provides Nucor with significant flexibility in optimizing our raw materials costs.

MD&A / raw-material sourcing flexibility · Dépôt 25/02/2026

The majority of the raw materials segment's total sales are to internal customers in the steel mills segment.

MD&A / raw materials sales to internal customers · Dépôt 12/08/2026

23 Table of Contents • Gross margins in the raw materials segment increased in the first six months of 2026 compared to the first six months of 2025, primarily due to increased gross margins at our scrap processing operations and DRI facilities.

MD&A / first-half 2026 raw materials operating improvement · Dépôt 12/08/2026

In each of our product lines, we face competition from well capitalized domestic and international providers offering similar products and services.

Business / competition from similar offerings · Dépôt 25/02/2026

The majority of these contracts are firm, fixed-price contracts that are, in most cases, competitively bid against other suppliers.

Business / competitively bid fixed-price contracts · Dépôt 25/02/2026

• Gross margins in the steel products segment decreased in the first six months of 2026 as compared to the first six months of 2025, primarily due to increased steel input costs which outpaced the previously mentioned increases in volumes and average selling prices.

MD&A / first-half 2026 steel products margin compression · Dépôt 12/08/2026

• Pre-operating and start-up costs of new facilities decreased to approximately $228 million in the first six months of 2026 from approximately $306 million in the first six months of 2025.

MD&A / first-half start-up costs · Dépôt 12/08/2026

market. There can be no assurance as to when or if the Section 232 or other import tariffs, quotas or other duties may be enacted, enforced, extended, modified or terminated in the future.

Risk factors / uncertainty of import protection · Dépôt 25/02/2026

We expect these investments to grow our long-term earnings power by increasing our channels to market, expanding our product portfolio into higher value-added offerings, improving our cost structure and further building upon our market leadership positions.

MD&A / management's expected capital-project benefits · Dépôt 25/02/2026

Reinforcing and merchant bar steel are sold in standard sizes and grades, which allows us to maintain inventory levels of these products to meet our customers’ expected orders.

Business / standardized reinforcing and merchant bar products · Dépôt 25/02/2026

The steel products segment's earnings decreased in 2025 due to decreased average selling prices and margin compression, particularly at our joist and deck businesses and decreased earnings of our metal buildings systems and rebar fabrication businesses.

MD&A / realized 2025 selling-price declines and margin compression · Dépôt 25/02/2026

21 Table of Contents Net sales for the steel products segment increased 16% in the first six months of 2026 compared to the first six months of 2025, due to a 12% increase in shipping volumes and a 4% increase in average sales price from $2,313 to $2,410 in the first six months of 2025 and 2026, respectively.

MD&A / first-half 2026 steel products prices and shipments · Dépôt 12/08/2026

Earnings in the steel mills segment increased in the second quarter of 2026 due to higher average selling prices, increased volumes and higher metal margins.

MD&A / second-quarter steel mills pricing and volume improvement · Dépôt 12/08/2026

Despite the increase in average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used, metal margins increased in the second quarter of 2026 as compared to the second quarter of 2025 due to the previously mentioned increases in average selling prices and shipping volumes.

MD&A / metal margins despite higher scrap costs · Dépôt 12/08/2026

• Also benefiting gross margins in the second quarter of 2026 was a $130 million reduction in cost of products sold in the steel mills segment related to cash refunds associated with prior periods' raw material procurement costs.

MD&A / procurement refunds benefiting reported margins · Dépôt 12/08/2026

Federal trade policies, including anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws in combination with Section 232 national security tariffs, are continuing to reduce the volume of unfairly traded imports into the United States.

MD&A / management's account of tariff effects on imports · Dépôt 12/08/2026

The amount of consideration we receive and revenue we recognize for contract customers are based primarily on pricing formulas that incorporate monthly or quarterly price adjustments which reflect changes in the current market-based indices and/or raw material costs near the time of shipment.

Revenue recognition / market-based contract pricing formulas · Dépôt 25/02/2026

The significant majority of bar, structural and plate product sales are spot market sales, and the amount of consideration we receive and revenue we recognize for those sales are based upon prevailing prices at the time of sale.

Revenue recognition / prevailing spot prices for bar, structural and plate · Dépôt 25/02/2026

Contract sales typically have terms ranging from six to 12 months.

MD&A / contract duration · Dépôt 25/02/2026

To mitigate this risk, customers prefer to enter into contracts in order to obtain committed volumes of supply from the mills.

MD&A / customer preference for committed supply · Dépôt 25/02/2026

We saw resilient demand in key end markets for the steel products segment during the second quarter of 2026, and backlogs for the segment at the end of the second quarter of 2026 are higher than they were at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

MD&A / steel products demand and sequential backlog growth · Dépôt 12/08/2026

3 Table of Contents Nucor Corporation Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) (In millions) Six Months (26 Weeks) Ended July 4, 2026 July 5, 2025 Operating activities: Net earnings before noncontrolling interests $ 2,150 $ 932 Adjustments: Depreciation 641 606 Amortization 126 128 Impairment of assets 15 20 Stock-based compensation 91 78 Deferred income taxes (61 ) (17 ) Distributions from affiliates 7 6 Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates (15 ) (14 ) Changes in assets and liabilities (exclusive of acquisitions and dispositions): Accounts receivable (952 ) (706 ) Inventories (560 ) (352 ) Accounts payable 454 375 Federal income taxes 110 135 Salaries, wages and related accruals 130 (135 ) Other operating activities 150 40 Cash provided by operating activities 2,286 1,096 Investing activities: Capital expenditures (1,232 ) (1,813 ) Investment in and advances to affiliates (2 ) (1 ) Disposition of plant and equipment 21 39 Acquisitions (net of cash acquired) - (1 ) Divestiture of affiliate 3 - Purchases of investments (157 ) (666 ) Proceeds from the sale of investments 382 717 Other investing activities 29 2 Cash used in investing activities (956 ) (1,723 ) Financing activities: Net change in short-term debt 6 (68 ) Repayment of long-term debt (37 ) (1,007 ) Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt, net of discount 15 997 Bond issuance costs - (9 ) Proceeds from exercise of stock options 14 - Payment of tax withholdings on certain stock-based compensation (77 ) (31 ) Distributions to noncontrolling interests (282 ) (214 ) Cash dividends (258 ) (258 ) Acquisition of treasury stock (475 ) (500 ) Proceeds from government incentives - 77 Other financing activities (10 ) 17 Cash used in financing activities (1,104 ) (996 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (8 ) 11 Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 218 (1,612 ) Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of year 2,260 3,558 Cash and cash equivalents - end of six months $ 2,478 $ 1,946 Non-cash investing activity: Change in accrued plant and equipment purchases $ 15 $ (27 ) See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

Financial statements / first-half operating cash flow, spending and financing · Dépôt 12/08/2026

As of July 4, 2026, the funded debt to total capital ratio was 27 Table of Contents 23.4% and we were in compliance with all non-financial covenants under the revolving credit facility.

Liquidity / funded debt to capital · Dépôt 12/08/2026

Capital expenditures for 2026 are estimated to be approximately $2.50 billion as compared to $3.42 billion in 2025.

Liquidity / actual 2025 capital expenditure and estimated 2026 expenditure · Dépôt 12/08/2026

Safety remains our most important value, and we achieved the lowest injury and illness rate in our history in 2025, marking eight consecutive years of improvement.

Proxy statement / historical safety outcomes · Dépôt 27/03/2026

LTIP awards are earned based on Nucor’s ROAIC across overlapping three-year performance periods that begin each January 1.

Executive compensation / existing three-year ROAIC performance periods · Dépôt 27/03/2026

Accordingly, 50% of each LTIP award is earned based on Nucor’s ROAIC ranking relative to the Steel Comparator Group, and the remaining 50% is earned based on Nucor’s ROAIC ranking relative to the General Industry Comparator Group, as outlined in the table below.

Executive compensation / relative ROAIC award structure · Dépôt 27/03/2026

8 Table of Contents Restricted Stock Awards A summary of Nucor’s restricted stock activity under the Nucor Corporation Senior Officers Annual Incentive Plan (currently, a supplement to the Nucor Corporation 2025 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan, the “AIP”) and the Nucor Corporation Senior Officers Long-Term Incentive Plan (currently, a supplement to the Nucor Corporation 2025 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan, the “LTIP”) for the first six months of 2026 is as follows (shares in thousands): Grant Date Shares Fair Value Per Share Restricted stock units and restricted stock awards: Unvested at beginning of year 203 $ 154.81 Granted 216 $ 166.63 Vested (233 ) $ 165.94 Canceled - $ - Unvested at July 4, 2026 186 $ 154.59 Compensation expense for common stock and common stock units awarded under the AIP and the LTIP is recorded over the performance measurement and vesting periods based on the anticipated number and market value of shares of common stock and common stock units to be awarded.

Stock-based compensation / actual senior officer awards and vesting activity · Dépôt 12/08/2026

Executive Officers are required to hold a significant number of shares as outlined below: Chief Executive Officer At least 100,000 shares Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer At least 35,000 shares Executive Vice Presidents At least 35,000 shares The above guidelines are higher than the median guidelines for Nucor’s steel company peers and other industrial and materials companies of similar size.

Executive compensation / stock ownership requirements · Dépôt 27/03/2026

What We Do What We Don’t Do ✓ Place a heavy emphasis on variable compensation x Offer significant perquisites ✓ Require significant stock ownership and holding requirements x Pay excise tax gross-ups on change in control payments ✓ Subject incentive compensation to a clawback policy x Permit hedging, pledging or short selling of Company stock ✓ Conduct annual compensation risk assessments x Frequently change plan designs ✓ Use an independent compensation consultant ✓ Reach out to discuss our compensation plans with our stockholders ✓ Provide change in control severange benefits or equity vesting only upon a double-trigger WHAT GUIDES OUR PROGRAM Program Aligned with Strategy Nucor’s executive compensation program continues to support our strategy.

Executive compensation / clawback, hedging and holding policies · Dépôt 27/03/2026

Our governance framework includes the following highlights: Board and Governance Information Highly qualified and engaged Board with relevant expertise to oversee our business and strategy Yes Empowered independent lead director with clearly articulated responsibilities Yes Size of current Board 8 Robust annual self-evaluations of Board, Board committees, Chair and CEO, and Lead Director Yes Current number of independent directors 7 Supermajority threshold for mergers Yes Average age of current directors 65 Proxy access Yes Average tenure of current directors 7.6 Years Stockholder action by written consent Yes Current percentage of women and minority Board members 38% Poison pill No All directors stand for annual election Yes Stock ownership guidelines for non-employee directors and executive officers Yes Majority vote resignation policy in uncontested director elections Yes Prohibition against hedging, short selling and pledging Yes Number of Board meetings in 2025 6 Executive Officer Incentive Compensation Recoupment Policy aligned with SEC clawback rules and related NYSE listing requirements Yes Separate Chair and CEO No Comprehensive and strategic risk oversight Yes Annual Meeting Attendance and Voting Instructions The Annual Meeting is to be held at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on Thursday, May 14, 2026.

Corporate governance / board composition and shareholder rights · Dépôt 27/03/2026

Lead Director The independent Lead Director (i) provides leadership to the Board; (ii) chairs Board meetings in the absence of the Chair; (iii) sets the agenda for and leads executive sessions of the independent directors without the attendance of management; (iv) serves as a liaison between the Chair and the independent directors; (v) consults with the Chair and the Secretary of the Company to approve the agenda for each Board meeting and the information that shall be provided to the directors for each scheduled meeting; (vi) approves meeting schedules to assure that there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items; (vii) meets with the Chair between Board meetings as appropriate in order to facilitate Board meetings and discussions; (viii) has the authority to call meetings of the independent directors; and (ix) is available for consultation and direct communication with major stockholders.

Corporate governance / independent lead director authority · Dépôt 27/03/2026

Furthermore, since the selling price adjustments are not immediate, there will always be a timing difference between changes in the prices we pay for raw materials and the adjustments we make to our contract selling prices.

MD&A / lag between input costs and contractual selling-price adjustments · Dépôt 25/02/2026

Historique des publications

Historique des publications
VersionMis à jourAvantage concurrentiel
523/10/2026none
422/10/2026none
318/10/2026none
218/10/2026none
118/10/2026Indisponible

Sources

Méthode et limites de l’analyse · Comprendre ce concept