NUE vs STLD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Nucor and Steel Dynamics are both leading domestic electric arc furnace steel producers, but Nucor is the larger of the two with a more diversified downstream product portfolio, while Steel Dynamics maintains a somewhat more concentrated flat-rolled and structural steel focus alongside its metals recycling business.
NUE offers greater scale and downstream product diversification, while STLD offers a more focused mini-mill and recycling-integrated model. The decision depends on whether you prioritize scale and diversification or a more concentrated, vertically integrated steel production approach.
STLD holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. NUE has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+85.50% vs +75.66%), though STLD has the better forward P/E setup (12.39x vs 13.71x for NUE). On fundamentals, STLD is growing revenue faster (33.40%), while NUE maintains the higher operating margin (15.67%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for STLD (+15.58%) than for NUE (+8.33%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to the largest domestic steel producer with significant scale advantages
- Value diversification into downstream fabrication and steel product businesses
- Believe electric arc furnace technology provides a durable cost advantage over integrated steelmakers
- Prefer a company with a long track record of dividend payments through steel price cycles
- Prefer a more focused flat-rolled and structural steel producer
- Value the cost control benefits of an integrated metals recycling business
- Believe growing steel fabrication segment exposure adds diversification
- Are comfortable with somewhat less scale than the largest domestic steel producer
| Metric | NUE | STLD |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 67.7 | 70.1 |
| AI ranki | #61 | #45 |
| Latest closei | $265.14 | $245.35 |
| 1M returni | +0.36% | -1.79% |
| 6M returni | +63.72% | +46.43% |
| 1Y returni | +85.50% | +75.66% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | NUE | STLD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $18.57K (+85.7%) started 2025-09-17 | $17.93K (+79.3%) started 2025-09-17 |
| 5Y ago | $30.71K (+207.1%) started 2021-09-20 | $47.63K (+376.3%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $87.61K (+776.1%) started 2016-09-19 | $147.62K (+1376.2%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | NUE | STLD |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $59.23B | $33.63B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.84 | 21.43 |
| Forward P/Ei | 13.71 | 12.39 |
| Price/Salesi | 0.92 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 1.79 | 1.82 |
| Analyst targeti | $282.81 | $271.21 |
| Target upsidei | +8.33% | +15.58% |
| Metric | NUE | STLD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 23.00% | 33.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 93.80% | 83.60% |
| EPS growthi | +93.80% | +83.60% |
| FCF margini | +1.89% | +1.14% |
| Operating margini | 15.67% | 11.50% |
| Profit margini | 7.99% | 7.83% |
| ROIC proxyi | 14.55% | 17.57% |
| Return on equityi | 14.55% | 17.57% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.86% | 0.90% |
| Payout ratioi | 17.80% | 18.69% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.88 | 1.53 |
| Debt/equityi | 30.51 | 46.92 |
| Current ratioi | 2.51 | 3.18 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.28 | 1.32 |
Over the past year, NUE and STLD have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.84), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | NUE | STLD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +85.67% | +79.28% |
| CAGRi | +85.84% | +79.43% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.74% | 35.90% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.98 | 1.69 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 3.08 | 2.55 | |
| Max drawdowni | 18.43% | 22.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 3.49% | 13.23% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.10% | 6.58% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.10% | 9.23% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.95% | 7.53% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.68% | 15.94% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +189.68% | +348.06% |
| CAGRi | +23.75% | +35.04% | |
| Volatilityi | 37.26% | 37.94% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.64 | 0.87 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.93 | 1.30 | |
| Max drawdowni | 47.79% | 32.20% | |
| Current drawdowni | 3.49% | 13.23% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.28% | 12.34% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.30% | 14.79% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.31% | 12.50% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.48% | 23.27% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +603.75% | +1111.77% |
| CAGRi | +21.56% | +28.35% | |
| Volatilityi | 36.11% | 39.55% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.60 | 0.72 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.87 | 1.06 | |
| Max drawdowni | 57.21% | 68.46% | |
| Current drawdowni | 3.49% | 13.23% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 16.47% | 16.75% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.13% | 21.56% | |
| Max daily dropi | 14.51% | 18.17% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.08% | 26.94% |
| Category | NUE | STLD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Nucor Corporation | Steel Dynamics, Inc. |
| Sector | Basic Materials | Basic Materials |
| Industry | Steel | Steel |
| Core business | The largest steel producer in the United States, operating electric arc furnace mini-mills that produce a broad range of steel products, alongside downstream steel product businesses including fabrication and joist manufacturing. | A domestic steel producer operating electric arc furnace mini-mills producing flat-rolled and structural steel products, alongside a metals recycling business and a growing steel fabrication segment. |
| Investor focus | Steel pricing and volume trends across its diverse product lines, downstream fabrication segment margin contribution, and capital allocation between growth investment and shareholder returns. | Flat-rolled steel pricing and capacity utilization trends, metals recycling segment contribution to raw material costs, and steel fabrication segment growth. |
- Position as the largest domestic steel producer provides significant scale advantages in raw material sourcing and production efficiency
- Electric arc furnace mini-mill technology provides lower-cost, more flexible production than traditional integrated blast furnace steelmaking
- Diversified downstream steel product and fabrication businesses provide earnings streams beyond raw steel production alone
- Electric arc furnace mini-mill technology provides lower-cost, more flexible production than traditional integrated blast furnace steelmaking
- Integrated metals recycling business provides some control over scrap steel input costs relative to producers without recycling operations
- Growing steel fabrication segment provides diversification into downstream value-added steel products
- Steel prices remain highly cyclical, tied closely to construction, automotive, and broader industrial demand trends
- Large-scale capacity expansion investments require sustained capital deployment with typical execution and timing risk
- Import competition and global steel trade dynamics can affect domestic pricing during periods of oversupply
- Steel prices remain highly cyclical, tied closely to construction, automotive, and broader industrial demand trends
- Smaller overall scale relative to the largest domestic steel producer limits some purchasing and pricing leverage
- Import competition and global steel trade dynamics can affect domestic pricing during periods of oversupply
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