Nucor closed the third quarter of 2026 with net earnings of $1.32 billion, or $5.80 per diluted share, up from $2.63 a year earlier. Revenue came in at $11.25 billion and EBITDA at $2.28 billion. The result beat the mid-September guidance, which had pointed to a range of $5.55 to $5.65 per share.
The American steelmaker is also a shareholder in Helion, the company developing a fusion reactor. Nucor entered Helion’s capital in 2023 with a $35 million investment and signed an agreement for a 500-megawatt plant intended to power a steel mill. The quarterly report again refers to that stake, but the figure needs to be read carefully: the $61 million pre-tax accounting gain, equal to $0.20 per share, belongs to the second quarter. There was no new adjustment in the third, as Nucor itself had flagged in its guidance.
The revaluation followed Helion’s funding round, which closed in June. The Series G raised $465 million, led by Thrive Capital, and put the company’s valuation at $15.5 billion. In January 2025, with the $425 million Series F, it stood at $5.4 billion. In eighteen months, the value has nearly tripled. Nucor also took part in the previous round.
The quarter’s industrial picture is solid. Chief Executive Officer Leon Topalian pointed to sustained demand in core markets, about $2.7 billion in free cash flow and nearly $1.4 billion returned to shareholders over the first nine months. In September, the first coil rolled off the new plate mill in West Virginia. The second galvanizing line at Nucor Steel Berkeley also came online.
For Nucor, fusion is a long-term bet on the cost of energy. An electric arc furnace steel mill consumes electricity in large quantities, and a dedicated 500-megawatt plant, slated under the agreement for 2030, would make it less dependent on the grid. Helion has already begun construction of Orion in Washington State and has a power supply contract with Microsoft expected for 2028.
If the timeline holds, in four years a steel producer could receive fusion power directly at its plant. It would be the first industrial application of the technology, with implications for those, including in Europe, seeking clean and stable electricity for the most energy-intensive sectors.
