06:30 AM EST, 12/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Shares of Nucor ( NUE ) and Steel Dynamics ( STLD ) were mixed early Tuesday after the steel production companies issued fourth-quarter profit outlooks below analyst expectations amid lower prices.

Nucor ( NUE ) expects earnings to be in a range of $0.55 to $0.65 per share for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, it said late Monday. The current consensus among four analysts on FactSet is for GAAP EPS of $0.70. The company's stock was down 1.6% in premarket activity.

The guidance represents a decline to the $1.05 a share Nucor ( NUE ) logged in the third quarter, as well as a sharp drop from EPS of $3.16 recorded in the prior-year quarter. In October, Nucor ( NUE ) projected its fourth-quarter earnings would decrease on a sequential basis.

Lower average selling prices and reduced volumes are anticipated to drag down earnings in the group's steel mills and products segments in the current quarter, Nucor ( NUE ) said. The company expects profit in its raw materials division to rise quarter over quarter, excluding an impairment charge taken in the previous three-month period.

In a separate statement, Steel Dynamics ( STLD ) said it anticipates EPS to be between $1.26 and $1.30 for the fourth quarter, down from $2.05 in the previous period and $2.61 a year ago. Four analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate GAAP EPS of $1.37. The firm's stock initially edged down pre-bell before turning higher.

The company cited lower market prices, decreased shipments and a 50,000 ton-volume reduction caused by an unexpected outage at its Butler Flat Roll division behind its tempered profitability expectations. Earnings from Steel Dynamics' ( STLD ) metals recycling operations are forecast to be higher on a sequential basis, while profit from the steel fabrication business is pegged to be lower.

Prices for flat rolled steel have "stabilized" while underlying steel demand remains "seasonally steady" for the main consuming sectors, based on robust customer order activity, according to Steel Dynamics ( STLD ). The company said customers have been "positive" regarding the business outlook for next year.

Steel Dynamics ( STLD ) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter results after the markets close on Jan. 22, while Nucor ( NUE ) is set to disclose earnings in the afterhours on Jan. 27.