Steel Dynamics Stock Slips After Q2 Sales Miss, CEO Warns Trump Tariffs Weighing On Customer Purchases

Steel Dynamics (STLD) said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s trade war is still causing customers to hesitate before making purchases, despite favorable long-term fundamentals.

“The uncertainty regarding trade policy continues to cause hesitancy in customer order patterns across our businesses, despite healthy underlying demand factors, such as manufacturing onshoring, infrastructure program funding, and increased regionalization of supply chains in the U.S.,” CEO Mark Millet said in a statement.

Shares of the company fell 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company’s second-quarter revenue fell short of expectations. It reported net sales of $4.57 billion for the three months ended June 30, while Wall Street expected it to post $4.73 billion in revenue, according to Fiscal.ai data.

Its quarterly net income fell to $299 million, or $2.01 per share, compared with $428 million, or $2.72 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

However, the company noted that steel pricing stabilized at higher levels during the second quarter, resulting in a significant sequential 39% rise in consolidated operating income. Trump has moved swiftly to boost domestic production and rejuvenate the ailing steel industry. In June, his administration raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50%.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Steel Dynamics rose to ‘extremely bullish’ territory from ‘bullish’ a day ago, while retail chatter was ‘high.’

The energy, non-residential construction, automotive, and industrial sectors led steel demand in the quarter, the company said. It is also expected that demand to stabilize as the U.S. strikes more trade deals.

“As unfairly traded imports decline, uncertainty dissipates, and growth of manufacturing continues to increase in the U.S., we believe a strong market environment will emerge, supporting pricing and demand,” Millett said.

“A little surprised by the small miss. (It) doesn't change the future,” one trader said on Stocktwits.

Steel Dynamics stock has gained 17% this year.

Also See: Trump’s Crackdown On China’s Trade Workarounds Could Hit 70% of Exports To US, Erode GDP: Report

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