Steel prices and demand continue to remain low. United States Steel Corporation (X.US) lowers its Q4 earnings guidance.

United States Steel Corporation (X.US) announced its latest earnings guidance on Thursday, expecting a loss in the fourth quarter. As a result, the stock dropped over 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday. The company expects an adjusted loss per share between 29 cents and 25 cents for the fourth quarter, while analysts' average expectation was earnings of 16 cents per share. The estimated adjusted core profit is around $150 million, lower than the previously forecasted $225 million to $275 million, and significantly below the average expectation of $261.7 million from six Wall Street analysts. CEO David Burritt stated that steel prices remain depressed, and costs associated with the expansion of the Big River Steel (BR2) plant have pressured this quarter, while the team is working on increasing production at the new plant. Benchmark steel prices in the US have dropped by 40% this year due to declining demand for the alloy from construction to appliances. The company also noted that demand and pricing environment in Europe have been weak. United States Steel Corporation has temporarily operated three blast furnaces starting from December 7 to meet production requirements after a fire incident, but expects to resume two blast furnaces by January next year. Due to lower sales prices and volumes, as well as increased downtime and maintenance activities, the core profit for the Flat-rolled segment in the fourth quarter is expected to be lower than the previous quarter. With a decrease in sales volume, the core profit for the Mini-Mill segment is also expected to be lower than the third quarter. The company estimates that the start-up and one-time construction costs related to BR2 are approximately $30 million, with an impact of $20 million related to production ramp-up. United States Steel Corporation expects to steadily reach full production capacity by 2025. At the time of this forecast, the $14.9 billion takeover offer from Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel has faced opposition from US government officials due to national security concerns.