Shares of Steel Dynamics Inc. STLD, +1.95% bounced 4.6% in premarket trading Thursday, after the steel producer and metals recycler provided a third-quarter profit outlook that was above expectations, citing “historically strong” steel operations. The upbeat outlook comes a day after the stock tumbled 9.0%, after fellow steel producer Nucor Corp. NUE, -2.63% issued a profit warning, as weakness in its steel mills business offset strength in steel products. Steel Dynamics said it now expects third-quarter adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, of $5.33 to $5.37, above the FactSet consensus of $5.03. The company said its EPS outlook is down from $6.73 in the second quarter, as lower average pricing for flat rolled steel more than offset lower raw material costs and higher shipments, but up from $4.96 a year ago. Separately, the company said it repurchased $412 million worth of its common stock, or 3% of the shares outstanding, during the quarter through Sept. 14. The stock has run up 20.1% year to date through Wednesday, while Nucor shares have gained 5.8% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.26% has dropped 17.2%.
