NUE vs STLD vs GGB Stock Comparison

Nucor, Steel Dynamics and Gerdau Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NUE Nucor Corp
$270.79 +9.5% 1M +87.8% 1Y
Market cap
$61.14B
P/E
17.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.83B
Div. yield
–
Steel Basic Materials
4 wins
STLD Steel Dynamics Inc
$246.80 +5.6% 1M +56.2% 1Y
Market cap
$34.36B
P/E
17.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$22.22B
Div. yield
0.01%
Steel Basic Materials
3 wins
GGB Gerdau S.A.
$4.64 -4.1% 1M +36.9% 1Y
Market cap
$8.90B
P/E
16.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.11B
Div. yield
–
Steel Basic Materials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nucor leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Nucor 4, Gerdau 4, Steel Dynamics 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNUESTLDGGBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $61.14B $34.36B $8.90B NUE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.0x 17.6x 16.5x GGB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.5x 14.4x 8.0x GGB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +21.8% +26.0% +103.8% GGB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 8.8% 3.2% STLD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.6% 11.6% STLD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.0x -0.4x GGB
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +87.8% +56.2% +36.9% NUE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +19.9%/yr +30.4%/yr +4.0%/yr STLD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.0% 36.1% 37.1% NUE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 56/100 67/100 NUE

Percentile Scorecard

NUESTLDGGB

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisNUESTLDGGB
Valuation 85 #26 of 162 69 #51 of 162 91 #15 of 162
Growth 60 #59 of 147 50 #74 of 147 36 #95 of 147
Profitability 86 #18 of 122 63 #46 of 122 61 #48 of 122
Financial Health – 37 #104 of 164 53 #78 of 164
Shareholder Returns 59 #45 of 107 61 #42 of 107 93 #8 of 107
Overall 72 56 67
  • NUE ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • STLD ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • GGB ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNUESTLDGGBSPY
1 month +9.5%+5.6%-4.1% -0.2%
3 months +2.1%-5.0%-5.9% +3.9%
6 months +20.3%+8.7%+2.9% +8.2%
Year to date +66.0%+45.6%+25.7% +12.9%
1 year +87.8%+56.2%+36.9% +12.3%
3 years +82.8%+137.1%+27.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +22.3%+33.4%+8.5% +23.3%
5 years +147.5%+276.9%+21.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +19.9%+30.4%+4.0% +10.9%
10 years +479.4%+818.8%+76.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +19.2%+24.8%+5.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNUESTLDGGBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.0%36.1%37.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.8%36.5%39.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.901.061.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.751.560.99 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.6%-32.5%-55.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.4%-12.7%-11.5% -1.2%
52-week high $274.65$282.76$5.24 $779.14
52-week low $142.66$151.62$3.26 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleNUESTLDGGB
P/E now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 13.3x 18.1xmedian 13.3x 17.2xmedian 13.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 3.2x 1.6xmedian 3.2x 0.5xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.3x 11.9xmedian 7.3x 3.7xmedian 7.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.5xmedian 14.7x 32.1xmedian 14.7x 67.1xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.2x 3.6xmedian 2.2x 0.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -2.21median 0.31 -3.25median 0.31 4.75median 0.31

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsNUESTLDGGB
Revenue $38.83B $22.22B $17.11B
Gross profit – $3.53B $1.99B
Operating income – $2.56B $1.59B
Net income $4.05B $1.95B $546.25M
Free cash flow – $1.09B $138.65M
EPS (diluted) $15.74 $13.58 $0.42
Cash & equivalents $3.47B $928.56M $1.09B
Total debt – $4.20B $309.89M
Shares (diluted) 228.50M 143.62M 1.29B
Enterprise value $61.14B $31.17B $4.22B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricNUESTLDGGB
P/E 17.2x 18.1x 17.2x
P/FCF 34.5x 32.1x 67.1x
P/Operating cash flow 11.5x 20.7x 5.5x
P/S 1.6x 1.6x 0.5x
P/B – 3.6x 0.9x
P/Tangible book – 3.7x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA – 11.9x 3.7x
EV/EBIT – 15.0x 5.3x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 1.7x 0.5x
EV/FCF – 35.0x 60.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.5x 22.6x 4.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.21 -3.25 4.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNUESTLDGGB
Revenue growth (1Y) 21.8% 26.0% 103.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.8% 4.6% 1.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 53.3% 39.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -6.4% -7.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 82.1% 51.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -9.0% -30.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 106.4% 72.3% -27.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -9.0% -10.0% -30.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 119.2% 77.0% 8.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -7.8% -5.6% 3.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 68.0% 11.2% 25.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -13.2% -23.6% -2.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 252.0% -77.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -22.1% -52.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNUESTLDGGB
Gross margin – 15.9% 11.6%
EBITDA margin – 14.4% 13.3%
Operating margin – 11.5% 9.3%
Pretax margin – 11.2% 3.8%
Net margin – 8.8% 3.2%
FCF margin – 4.9% 0.8%
Operating cash flow margin 13.7% 7.6% 9.9%
Return on equity – 20.5% 3.5%
Return on assets 10.7% 11.2% 2.3%
Return on invested capital – 14.6% 11.6%
Return on capital employed – 17.1% 11.4%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.3x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 0.9x 3.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNUESTLDGGB
Debt / assets – 23.6% 1.9%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.0x -0.4x
Debt / FCF – 3.8x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 37.2% 44.8% 34.9%
Equity / assets – 55.2% 65.1%
Interest coverage – 18.4x 4.1x
Current ratio 2.5x 3.1x 2.9x
Quick ratio – 1.4x 1.2x
Cash ratio – 0.4x 0.6x
Altman Z-score – 6.07 3.04

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNUESTLDGGB
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.8% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – 2.4% 3.6%
Shareholder yield 0.8% 3.2% 6.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 15.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 27.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.4% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.4% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusNUESTLDGGB
Forward P/E 13.5xFY2026 14.4xFY2026 8.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.11FY2026 $17.11FY2026 $0.58FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +160.8%FY2026 +114.1%FY2026 +346.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.9% +20.9% +3.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $39.95BFY2026 $22.96BFY2026 $14.44BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +22.9%FY2026 +26.3%FY2026 +6.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% +15.9% -4.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNUESTLDGGB
Held by institutions 79.2% 82.7% 18.0%
Institutions holding 1,541 1,022 211
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.2% +1.2% +17.1%
Institutions buying 751 501 119
Institutions selling 516 370 52
Buyers to sellers 1.46 1.35 2.29

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

NUESTLDGGB
NUE 1.00 0.88 0.53
STLD 0.88 1.00 0.55
GGB 0.53 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NUE, STLD and GGB?

Nucor (NUE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nucor (NUE) $61.14B, Steel Dynamics (STLD) $34.36B, Gerdau (GGB) $8.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, NUE, STLD and GGB?

Gerdau (GGB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nucor (NUE) 17.0x, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 17.6x, Gerdau (GGB) 16.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gerdau (GGB) is cheapest (Nucor (NUE) 13.5x, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 14.4x, Gerdau (GGB) 8.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Gerdau (GGB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nucor (NUE) +21.8%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +26.0%, Gerdau (GGB) +103.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) has the highest net margin (Steel Dynamics (STLD) 8.8%, Gerdau (GGB) 3.2%). On return on invested capital, Steel Dynamics (STLD) leads (Steel Dynamics (STLD) 14.6%, Gerdau (GGB) 11.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nucor (NUE) returned the most: Nucor (NUE) +87.8%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +56.2%, Gerdau (GGB) +36.9%. Over five years, Steel Dynamics (STLD) compounded fastest (Nucor (NUE) +19.9%/yr, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +30.4%/yr, Gerdau (GGB) +4.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nucor (NUE) 0.00%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 0.01%, Gerdau (GGB) 0.00%. Nucor (NUE) and Gerdau (GGB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nucor (NUE) has been the steadiest (Nucor (NUE) 32.0%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 36.1%, Gerdau (GGB) 37.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NUE, STLD and GGB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nucor (NUE) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.