Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s (STLD Quick QuoteSTLD - Free Report) board of directors has announced a first-quarter cash dividend of 50 cents per common share, a 9% increase over the company's 2024 quarterly rate. The dividend is payable to shareholders of record at the close of business as of March 31, 2025, on or around April 11, 2025.

The board also authorized an additional $1.5 billion share repurchase program for the company's common stock. The authorization is effective immediately and adds to the prior $1.5 billion program approved on Nov. 3, 2023, with $194 million still authorized and available for repurchase as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Since 2017, STLD has repurchased $6.7 billion of its common stock, representing 41% of its outstanding shares, and paid cash dividends totaling $1.7 billion through Dec. 31, 2024. Over the past five years, the company has also focused on strategic growth, investing $7.1 billion in capital investments and acquisitions. Despite these significant investments, it has maintained a best-in-class after-tax return on invested capital of 24%, highlighting its strong financial performance and commitment to delivering value to shareholders.

The company has consistently increased its cash dividend in alignment with its growth initiatives while complementing this with a share repurchase program during periods of strong cash generation. With a robust capital foundation and consistent cash flow, the company is well-positioned to pursue both organic and transactional growth strategies. At the same time, it continues to deliver strong shareholder distributions, demonstrating its commitment to enhancing shareholder value while maintaining its investment-grade credit ratings.

Shares of Steel Dynamics have gained 1.6% over the past year against a 21.6% decline of its industry.

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The company, on its fourth-quarter call, said that it believes that the market conditions are in place to support rising demand across its operational platforms in 2025. Steel pricing has stabilized, and customer optimism is strong across its steel operations as demand remains stable. Furthermore, the company believes that demand for steel products manufactured in the United States with reduced carbon emissions will support future domestic steel prices. 

The continued onshoring of manufacturing businesses, combined with the expectation of significant fixed asset investment from public funding related to the U.S Infrastructure, Inflation Reduction Act and Department of Energy programs, will help the domestic steel industry compete.

STLD’s Rank & Key Picks

STLD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS Quick QuoteCRS - Free Report) , Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI Quick QuoteAGI - Free Report) and Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (AXTA Quick QuoteAXTA - Free Report)

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 15.7%. The company's shares have soared 212% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Alamos Gold, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while missing once. In this time frame, it has delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 7.9%, on average. AGI’s shares have rallied 96.9% over the past year. 

Axalta Coating Systems, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #1, beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. In this time frame, it has delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 16.3%, on average. AXTA’s shares have rallied 12.9% over the past year.