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U.S. Steel's (X) Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates in Q4

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United States Steel Corporation (X - Free Report) logged a profit of $174 million or 68 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2022, down from a profit of $1,069 million or $3.75 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 87 cents per share. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents.
 
Revenues fell around 23% year over year to $4,338 million in the reported quarter. It, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,952.9 million.

U.S. Steel’s results were impacted by lower prices across Flat-Rolled, Mini Mill and U.S. Steel Europe units in the fourth quarter. The company’s overall shipments also dropped around 10% year over year in the quarter to 3,369,000 tons.

United States Steel Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

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 $159 million in the reported quarter, down around 82% year over year.

Steel shipments in the segment fell roughly 7% year over year to 1,885,000 tons. Average realized price per ton in the unit was $1,086, down around 24% year over year.
 
Mini Mill: The segment recorded a loss of $68 million in the quarter, compared with a profit of $366 million in the year-ago quarter. Shipments were 636,000 tons, up around 14% year over year. Average realized price per ton was $786, down around 47% year over year.

U.S. Steel Europe: The segment posted a loss of $68 million, compared with a profit of $269 million in the year-ago quarter. Shipments in the segment fell around 30% year over year to 715,000 tons. Average realized price per ton for the unit was $957, down around 11% year over year.

Tubular:  The segment posted a profit of $205 million in the reported quarter, up nearly seven-fold year over year. Shipments rose roughly 5% year over year to 133,000 tons. Average realized price per ton for the unit was $3,616, up roughly 84% year over year.

FY22 Results

Earnings for full-year 2022 were $9.16 per share compared with $14.88 per share a year ago. Net sales went up around 4% year over year to $21,065 million.

Financials

At the end of 2022, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $3,504 million, up around 39% year over year. Long-term debt rose roughly 1% year over year to $3,914 million.

The company returned roughly $900 million to stockholders in 2022.

Outlook

U.S. Steel said that it is well-placed for 2023 and plans to continue rewarding stockholders while investing in the business this year. It expects its non-grain oriented electrical steel line at Big River Steel to start producing advanced steel grades later in 2023 to meet the rising demand for electric vehicles.

Price Performance

The company’s shares are up 35.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 22.2% rise.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

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

Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD - Free Report) , Commercial Metals Company (CMC - Free Report) and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) .

Steel Dynamics currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STLD's current-year earnings has been revised 0.4% upward in the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Steel Dynamics’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 11.3%, on average. STLD has rallied around 113% in a year.

Commercial Metals currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The consensus estimate for CMC's current-year earnings has been revised 9.8% upward in the past 60 days.

Commercial Metals’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 16.7%, on average. CMC has gained around 58% in a year.

Agnico Eagle currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEM’s current-year earnings has been revised 0.4% upward in the past 60 days.

Agnico Eagle beat Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.4% on average. AEM’s shares have gained roughly 13% in the past year.

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