Yahoo Finance U.S. Steel's (X) Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates in Q1
United States Steel Corporation X logged a profit of $171 million or 68 cents per share for first-quarter 2024, compared with a profit of $199 million or 78 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 82 cents, up from 77 cents a year ago. The figure, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 83 cents.
Revenues fell around 7% year over year to $4,160 million in the reported quarter and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,220 million.
The company reported a total shipment of 3,803,000 tons for the reported quarter, down around 4% year over year. It was below our estimate of 3,955,000 tons.
United States Steel Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
United States Steel Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | United States Steel Corporation Quote
Segment Highlights
Flat-Rolled: The segment recorded a profit of $34 million in the reported quarter. This compares to a loss of $7 million a year ago.
Steel shipments in the segment went down roughly 10% year over year to 2,049,000 tons. The average realized price per ton in the unit was $1,054, up around 4% year over year. It beat our estimate of $983.
Mini Mill: The segment recorded a profit of $99 million in the quarter, up from $12 million in the year-ago quarter. Shipments were 568,000 tons, down around 14% year over year. The average realized price per ton was $977, up around 23% year over year. It also beat our estimate of $855.
U.S. Steel Europe: The segment posted a profit of $16 million in the reported quarter. This compares to a loss of $34 million a year ago. Shipments rose roughly 21% year over year to 1,072,000 tons. The average realized price per ton for the unit was $830, down around 9% year over year. It matched our estimate of $830.
Tubular: The segment posted a profit of $57 million in the reported quarter, down from a profit of $232 million a year ago. Shipments fell roughly 13% to 114,000 tons. The average realized price per ton for the unit was $2,267, down nearly 40% year over year. It lagged our estimate of $2,385.
Financials
At the end of the quarter, the company's cash and cash equivalents were $2,221 million, down around 25% from the previous quarter’s levels. Long-term debt was $4,082 million, flat sequentially.
Outlook
Moving ahead, X expects a stronger second quarter with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $425-$475 million. This is expected to drive sequentially stronger EBITDA for in the Flat-Rolled unit. The Mini Mill segment is projected to be unfavorably impacted by lower average selling prices. The results in the U.S. Steel Europe segment are expected to remain challenged in the second quarter, reflecting commercial headwinds. The company sees results in the Tubular segment to moderate on declining selling prices.
Moreover, U.S. Steel continues to progress toward completing the transaction with Nippon Steel Corporation (“NSC”). Its shareholders, last month, approved its proposed merger with NSC, marking a key milestone toward the completion of the transaction. The company expects the transaction to complete in the second half of 2024, subject to the fulfillment of the remaining customary closing conditions.
Price Performance
The company’s shares have rallied 76.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s 14.8% rise.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
U.S. Steel currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space include Gold Fields Limited GFI, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and L.B. Foster Company FSTR and American Vanguard Corporation AVD, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GFI’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at 22 cents per share. The consensus estimate for GFI’s first-quarter earnings has been stable in the past 60 days.
L.B. Foster is slated to report first-quarter results on May 7. The consensus estimate for FSTR’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 16 cents per share. The company’s shares have rallied around 112% in the past year.
American Vanguard is expected to report first-quarter results on May 14. The consensus estimate for AVD’ first-quarter earnings is pegged at 8 cents per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 14.3%.
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