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U.S. Steel (X) Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates in Q3

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United States Steel Corporation (X - Free Report) reported net loss of $234 million or $1.06 per share in third-quarter 2020 compared with a loss of $84 million or 49 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted loss per share was $1.21 compared with a loss of 21 cents in the prior-year quarter. The figure was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.39.

Revenues fell 23.8% year over year to $2,340 million in the reported quarter. However, the top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,211.1 million.

Segment Highlights

Flat-Rolled: The segment recorded a loss of $159 million in the third quarter against earnings of $46 million in the year-ago quarter.

Steel shipments in the segment fell 18.8% year over year to 2,155,000 tons and average realized price per ton in the unit was $712, down 2.7% year over year.

U.S. Steel Europe: The segment posted profits of $13 million against a loss of $46 million in the year-ago quarter. Shipments in the segment rose 3.3% year over year to 790,000 tons. Average realized price per ton for the unit was $608, down 7.3% year over year.

Tubular:  Loss in the segment amounted to $52 million, wider than a loss of $25 million in the year-ago quarter.

Steel shipments declined 59.2% year over year to 71,000 tons. Average realized price per ton for the unit was $1,230, down 13.2% year over year.

Financials

U.S. Steel ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1,696 million, nearly four-fold year-over-year increase. Long-term debt rose 85.1% year over year to $4,628 million.

Outlook

The company expects to generate positive adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter. U.S. Steel has successfully completed the start-up of its electric arc furnace at Fairfield, which along with the investment in Big River Steel enables the company expand its sustainable steel offerings.  

Price Performance

The company’s shares lost 14.6% in the past a year compared with the industry’s 2.5% decline.


Zacks Rank & Key Picks

U.S. Steel currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) , Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD - Free Report) and B2Gold Corp (BTG - Free Report) . While Barrick and Agnico Eagle sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), B2Gold carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Agnico Eagle has an expected earnings growth rate of 102.1% for 2020. Its shares have returned 31.4% in the past year.

Barrick has an expected earnings growth rate of 100% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 53.9% in the past year.

B2Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 250% for 2020. The company’s shares have gained 83.1% in the past year.

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