Nucor Corporation has announced guidance for its third quarter ending October 1, 2022. Nucor expects third-quarter earnings to be in the range of $6.30 to $6.40 per diluted share. Nucor reported net earnings of $9.67 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2022 and $7.28 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2021.
We expect the steel mills segment earnings to be considerably lower in the third quarter of 2022 as compared to the second quarter of 2022, due to metal margin contraction and reduced shipping volumes, particularly at our sheet and plate mills. The steel products segment is expected to have another strong quarter in the third quarter of 2022, with earnings roughly in-line with the second quarter of 2022. Raw materials segment earnings are expected to be similar to the second quarter of 2022. We continue to believe that 2022 will be the most profitable year in Nucor’s history.
During the third quarter, Nucor repurchased 5.3 million shares at an average price of $122.24 per share (17.5 million shares year-to-date at an average price of $134.99 per share). Nucor has returned more than $2.7 billion to stockholders in the form of share repurchases and dividend payments year-to-date.
