---
title: "Steel prices and demand remain sluggish, US Steel lowers Q4 performance guidance"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/222865651.md"
description: "US Steel expects to report a loss in the fourth quarter, with an adjusted loss per share between 25 to 29 cents, significantly lower than analysts' expectations of a profit of 16 cents per share. Affected by weak steel prices and cost pressures, the stock fell over 5% in after-hours trading. The company anticipates core profits of approximately $150 million, down from the previously forecasted $225 million to $275 million. Due to declining demand, core profits in the flat-rolled and mini mill segments are also expected to be lower than the previous quarter"
datetime: "2024-12-20T00:59:01.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/222865651.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/222865651.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/222865651.md)
---

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# Steel prices and demand remain sluggish, US Steel lowers Q4 performance guidance

According to Zhitong Finance APP, US Steel (X.US) announced its latest earnings guidance on Thursday, expecting a loss in the fourth quarter. As a result, the stock fell more than 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

The company expects an adjusted loss per share in the fourth quarter to be between $0.29 and $0.25, while the average analyst expectation is for earnings of $0.16 per share. The adjusted core profit is expected to be around $150 million, down from the previously forecasted $225 million to $275 million, and significantly below the average expectation of $261.7 million from six Wall Street analysts.

CEO David Burritt stated that low steel prices and costs associated with the expansion of the Big River 2 (BR2) plant are putting pressure on this quarter, while the team is working to increase production at the new plant.

Since the beginning of the year, benchmark steel prices in the U.S. have fallen by 40%, as demand for the alloy has decreased across sectors from construction to home appliances.

The company added that demand and pricing conditions in Europe have remained weak.

US Steel also noted that to meet production requirements following unexpected outages due to fires, the company will temporarily operate three blast furnaces starting December 7, but expects to resume two blast furnaces by January next year.

Due to declining sales prices and volumes, as well as increased outages and maintenance activities, the core profit of the flat-rolled products segment is expected to be lower than the previous quarter in the fourth quarter.

The core profit of its mini mill segment is also expected to be lower than in the third quarter due to declining sales volumes.

The company expects that the related startup and one-time construction costs for BR2 will be approximately $30 million, with an impact of $20 million related to production ramp-up.

US Steel expects to steadily reach full production capacity by 2025.

This forecast comes as the $14.9 billion acquisition proposal from Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel faces opposition from U.S. government officials due to national security concerns

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