The Investor
15 Oct 2026, 15:05
CMC Rises 2% as Q4 Earnings Surge and Steel Margins Strengthen
CMC (NYSE: CMC) shares rose about 2% after the company reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results, with sharply higher earnings, expanding margins and solid demand across key industrial and infrastructure markets.
Fourth-quarter net sales increased 25.7% year over year to $2.66 billion. Net earnings rose 40% to $212.5 million, or $1.91 per diluted share, while adjusted EPS increased 52.6% to $2.09. Core EBITDA climbed 35.1% to $393.7 million and core EBITDA margin expanded 100 basis points to 14.8%.
North America Steel was the main driver. Adjusted EBITDA increased 32.6% to $317.5 million, while margin improved to 16.4% from 14.8%. Metal margin rose by $84 per ton year over year to $652, supported by higher selling prices and lower sequential scrap costs.
Demand trends also remained healthy. Merchant bar shipments jumped 27.5% year over year, helped by industrial and data center-related activity, while downstream backlog volumes increased 15.5%. Management also cited strength in energy, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial manufacturing and public infrastructure.
Construction Solutions also posted strong reported growth, with revenue up 94.5% and adjusted EBITDA up 100.9%, although precast performance came in below management’s prior expectations because of residential softness in parts of the Southeast.
CMC ended the quarter with net leverage of 1.9x, below its 2x target, and more than $2.0 billion of available liquidity. The company also repurchased $26.7 million of stock during the quarter.
The 2% gain appears to reflect strong earnings growth, improving steel margins and healthy backlogs, which outweighed softer precast results and expectations for some normal seasonal pressure in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
CMC (NYSE: CMC) shares rose about 2% after the company reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results, with sharply higher earnings, expanding margins and solid demand across key industrial and infrastructure markets.
Fourth-quarter net sales increased 25.7% year over year to $2.66 billion. Net earnings rose 40% to $212.5 million, or $1.91 per diluted share, while adjusted EPS increased 52.6% to $2.09. Core EBITDA climbed 35.1% to $393.7 million and core EBITDA margin expanded 100 basis points to 14.8%.
North America Steel was the main driver. Adjusted EBITDA increased 32.6% to $317.5 million, while margin improved to 16.4% from 14.8%. Metal margin rose by $84 per ton year over year to $652, supported by higher selling prices and lower sequential scrap costs.
Demand trends also remained healthy. Merchant bar shipments jumped 27.5% year over year, helped by industrial and data center-related activity, while downstream backlog volumes increased 15.5%. Management also cited strength in energy, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial manufacturing and public infrastructure.
Construction Solutions also posted strong reported growth, with revenue up 94.5% and adjusted EBITDA up 100.9%, although precast performance came in below management’s prior expectations because of residential softness in parts of the Southeast.
CMC ended the quarter with net leverage of 1.9x, below its 2x target, and more than $2.0 billion of available liquidity. The company also repurchased $26.7 million of stock during the quarter.
The 2% gain appears to reflect strong earnings growth, improving steel margins and healthy backlogs, which outweighed softer precast results and expectations for some normal seasonal pressure in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
