Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) is a publicly traded company in the Basic Materials — Steel industry listed on NASDAQ. This overview shows the latest price, key valuation ratios, profitability metrics and financial-health indicators used by fundamental investors.
Steel Dynamics, Inc. is a prominent American steel manufacturer and metal recycling enterprise, conducting its operations through three distinct business divisions. The Steel Operations segment is responsible for producing a broad range of steel products, including hot, cold, and coated rolled steel, various structural shapes like beams, channels, and angles, flat and reinforcing bars, and a diverse selection of rail and engineered steel bar products.
Is Steel Dynamics, Inc. stock overvalued or undervalued in 2026?
Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) trades at 18.5× earnings (P/E), against a median of 18.8× across the 156 materials companies above $2bn in Kaplio's universe. No valuation verdict: it is a cyclical and today's P/E (18.5) does not tell whether it is cheap.
Kaplio overview: Steel Dynamics, Inc.
Market cap $36B · 52 weeks $152 – $283 (10 % below the high) · P/E 18.5× · 2027 expected P/E 11.4× · Dividend 0.85 % · 11 years rising · Next earnings January 25, 2027 · expected EPS $5.90 · Closing price, Oct 30 · accounts published Oct 19.
- Valuation: P/E 18.5× (no verdict).
- Business: ROIC 13 % (fair).
- Balance sheet: Net debt/EBITDA 1.6× (solid).
- Earnings: 4 of 8 (uneven).
What would it be worth at its usual multiples?
No valuation verdict: it is a cyclical and today's P/E (18.5) does not tell whether it is cheap.
In cyclicals the P/E misleads; on its average earnings over 10 years it trades at 29.4 times.
What matters in materials: 3 of 8 pass
- FCF yield 1.7 %, fails.
- Gross margin 13.0 %, fails.
- Capex / D&A 1.7×, fails.
- P/B across cycles 3.6×, fails.
- Cycle-adjusted EV/EBITDA 11.1×, fails.
- Net debt / EBITDA (trough) 1.6×, passes.
- Dividend coverage 1.7×, passes.
- Altman Z-Score 5.1, passes.
Against its peers (reference peers) — Steel Dynamics, Inc.: P/E 18.5×; EV/EBITDA 11.1×; ROIC 12.9 %; $35.7B. Nucor Corporation (P/E 17.4×; EV/EBITDA 9.7×; ROIC 12.3 %; $62.1B), Carpenter Technology Corporation (P/E 25.0×; EV/EBITDA 16.3×; ROIC 18.4 %; $14.0B), Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (P/E —; EV/EBITDA 15.9×; ROIC -0.8 %; $8.1B).
Expensive or cheap against its last 9 years?
P/E at each close: today 18.5× · median 8.8× · minimum 4.1× · maximum 20.9× · cheap below 6.1× · expensive above 13.5×. It has been cheaper than today 97% of the time over its last 9 years.
Dividend
solid · Yield 0.85 % ($1.97 per share in 2025) · Years raising it ≥ 11 · 5-year growth +15 % a year · Free cash flow coverage 2.7× · With $1,000 invested today you'd collect $8.50 a year ($0.71 a month).
Kaplio's reading: Steel Dynamics, Inc.
Updated on October 20, 2026 · accounts published on October 19, 2026
Reading of October 19, 2026: A profitable steelmaker with a sturdy balance sheet and margins below their long-run norm
Steel Dynamics trades at a P/E of 22.2 over the last 12 months, 153 % above its ten-year median of 8.8, while EPS fell 19 % year on year.
- Is Steel Dynamics expensive or cheap? Its P/E of 22.2 is 153 % above its ten-year median and higher than in 97 % of the past decade.
- How is the business doing? Revenue rose 4 % over 12 months while EPS fell 19 %; fiscal 2025 operating margin was 8.1 % versus an 11.5 % average.
- How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt was 1.6× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, well under the 3× ceiling, and the dividend has risen 11 fiscal years in a row.
- What to expect from the next earnings? Next results are due January 25, 2027, and analysts expect EPS of $5.92 after a 4 % miss in October.
- Can the balance sheet withstand a cycle trough? It passes all three debt and solvency checks for basic materials but fails five on cash flow, margins and cycle-adjusted valuation.
Is Steel Dynamics expensive or cheap?
Over the last 12 months Steel Dynamics trades at a P/E of 22.2. Its ten-year median is 8.8, and over the decade the multiple has ranged from 4.1 to 25.6. It has traded at a lower P/E 97 % of the time over that decade, and it sits 27 % above its sector median of 17.5. EV/EBITDA of 13.0× compares with a seven-year average of 7.0×, and price to book of 3.8× is well above the 2.0× seen as reasonable in basic materials. After a 73 % rise over 12 months, the stock is pricing in a recovery that earnings have not shown yet.
How is the business doing?
Sales over the last 12 months grew 3.6 % while EPS fell 18.8 %, so profits are falling even as revenue edges up. The operating margin of 10.6 % over the last 12 months is up from 8.1 % in fiscal 2025, but still below the 11.5 % average for fiscal 2014-2025. Returns hold up better. ROIC of 10.8 % is 1.4 points above the sector median of 9.4 %, and it has stayed above 10 % in 7 of the last 10 fiscal years, with the low at 8.1 % in 2016. The fiscal 2025 gross margin of 13.0 % is thin next to the 30 % the sector treats as healthy.
How strong is the balance sheet?
Over the last 12 months, debt to equity of 0.44 and a current ratio of 3.18 point to a comfortable position, and an Altman Z of 5.1 sits well inside the safe zone above 2.99. Net debt of $23.76 per share in fiscal 2025 equals about 10 % of the current price. The dividend yields 0.9 % and took 25 % of fiscal 2025 earnings. Free cash flow covered it 1.7 times, above the 1.3× healthy mark. Fiscal 2025 capex ran at 1.7× depreciation, above the 0.8× to 1.5× range, and the free cash flow yield over the last 12 months is only 1.7 %.
What to expect from the next earnings?
On October 19, 2026 Steel Dynamics reported quarterly EPS of $5.26 against $5.48 expected, a 4.0 % miss, and it has beaten EPS estimates in only 4 of the last 8 quarters. Analysts have not turned more cautious. The 2026 EPS consensus rose 1.6 % over the last 30 days, from $17.45 to $17.74 across 6 analysts, and the revenue consensus rose 0.7 %. Of 27 analysts, 14 rate the stock a buy, 12 a hold and 1 a sell. The January 25, 2027 report, with $5.92 expected, will show whether the margin recovery holds.
Can the balance sheet withstand a cycle trough?
Steelmakers depend on commodity prices, so a P/E taken at one point in the cycle can mislead. The sector is judged by cost position and by whether the dividend survives the trough. On that test Steel Dynamics holds up. Net debt at 1.6× EBITDA in fiscal 2025 is below the 3× limit, free cash flow covered the dividend 1.7 times, and an Altman Z of 5.1 is far from distress. The weak points are cost and price: a 13.0 % gross margin against the 30 % benchmark, a 1.7 % free cash flow yield, and a cycle-adjusted EV/EBITDA of 13.0× versus its 7.0× seven-year average.
How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.
Profitability
| Return on Equity | 20.97% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 12.92% |
| Return on Assets | 10.99% |
| Gross Margin | 15.84% |
| Operating Margin | 12.02% |
| Net Margin | 8.82% |
Financial Health
| Debt / Equity | 0.43 |
| Current Ratio | 3.14 |
| Piotroski F-Score | 5 |
| Altman Z-Score | 5.07 |
Price Performance
| 1 month | +12.10% |
| 3 months | +0.90% |
| Year-to-date | +49.62% |
| 1 year | +61.69% |
| 3 years | +132.55% |
| 5 years | +294.85% |
| 10 years | +850.98% |
Dividend History
Paid in the last 12 months: $2.0900 per share in 4 payments.
| Date | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-30 | $0.5300 |
| 2026-06-30 | $0.5300 |
| 2026-03-31 | $0.5300 |
| 2025-12-31 | $0.5000 |
| 2025-09-30 | $0.5000 |
| 2025-06-30 | $0.5000 |
| 2025-03-31 | $0.5000 |
| 2024-12-31 | $0.4600 |
| 2024-09-30 | $0.4600 |
| 2024-06-28 | $0.4600 |
Amounts adjusted for stock splits.
Related companies: NUE · CRS · CMC · CLF · WS
Explore sector: Basic Materials · Steel
More sections of STLD: Financials · Valuation · Statistics · Estimates · Technical · Ownership · News · Events
Discover more: Weekly Radar: the S&P 500 through the Buffett and Lynch methods · Companies that pass the Buffett method today · Companies that pass the Lynch method today · Stocks that pass Graham's defensive investor test today · Investment Academy — learn to analyze stocks