Gerdau S.A. (GGB)

Gerdau reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA of R$ 3.8 billion, up 10% from the second quarter 4. EBITDA is operating profit before interest, taxes and the wear-and-tear charges of depreciation and amortization 4.

The company says North America supplied 76% of consolidated EBITDA, at a 27.7% margin that it called the highest level in four years 4. Brazil recovered only slightly, as steel imports there were 19.8% higher than in the second quarter 4.

Net debt stood at 0.58 times adjusted EBITDA, which the company called a solid balance sheet 4. Gerdau S.A. approved a dividend of R$ 0.34 per share, payable from 15 December 2026 4.

For the fourth quarter the release lists a squeeze on Brazilian margins from a seasonal slowdown and costly coal 4. It also lists antidumping duties on hot-rolled coils and wire rod, with a final decision due by December 2026 4.

Gerdau began in 1901 as the Pontas de Paris nail factory in Porto Alegre, run by the Gerdau family, which is still the indirect controlling shareholder 2. In February 1948 it started making steel from scrap in electric arc furnaces, the mini mill method it still follows 2. Around 70% of its steel production still comes from scrap 1.

Growth came first from buying mills across Brazil: São Paulo in 1967, the Northeast in 1969 and the Cosigua mill in Rio de Janeiro in 1979 2. It went abroad in 1980 with Uruguay's only long steel producer and added a Canadian mill in 1989 2.

In 2002 Gerdau merged its North American mills with those of Co-Steel to form Gerdau Ameristeel 2. In December 2003 it agreed to purchase the iron ore mines at Miguel Burnier, Várzea do Lopes and Gongo Soco from the Votorantim Group for US$ 30 million 2.

The 2007 deals made it a major North American producer: Chaparral Steel cost US$ 4.2 billion and the later MacSteel purchase US$ 1.5 billion 2. In 2010 it paid US$ 1.6 billion for the Gerdau Ameristeel shares it did not yet own 2.

It completed the sale of its Spanish unit in May 2016 and, in November 2018, four U.S. rebar mills to Commercial Metals Company for US$ 600 million 2.

The pandemic year 2020 brought net sales of R$ 43.8 billion and the purchase of the Silat mill in Ceará 2. Sales then jumped to R$ 78.3 billion in 2021 and R$ 82.4 billion in 2022, which the company tied to the global upcycle in commodity prices 3.

Net income was R$ 4.6 billion in 2024, 39.0% below 2023, and R$ 1.4 billion in 2025, 69.2% below 2024 1. Gross margin, the share of sales left after production costs, slid from 16.4% in 2023 to 11.4% in 2025 1.

The company blamed rising steel imports and new capacity in Brazil, where 2025 net sales fell 1.8%, while North America gained 12.1% on data centers and renewable energy demand 1.

What Gerdau makes

Gerdau is the largest Brazilian steel producer and a leading maker of long steel (bars, beams and wire used in building) in the Americas 1. It runs 29 steel producing facilities with capacity of about 15.7 million tonnes of crude steel a year 1.

Its 2025 net sales were R$ 29.7 billion in Brazil, R$ 35.8 billion in North America and R$ 5.6 billion in South America 1. The company employed 25,817 people at its industrial units, 66% of them in Brazil 1.

Brazil

The Brazil segment makes long, flat and special steel and iron ore, with capacity of about 7.9 million tonnes of crude steel 1. Its largest mill is Ouro Branco in Minas Gerais, one of three integrated mills that start from iron ore 1.

In 2025, 78.1% of its Brazilian shipments went to the domestic market, and certified iron ore reserves at Miguel Burnier are 476 million tonnes 1.

North America

North America has 10 steel units in the United States and 3 in Canada, with capacity of about 6.9 million tonnes of crude steel 1. It makes rebar, merchant bars and beams for builders, plus special sections and downstream products such as railroad spikes and elevator guide rails 1.

South America

South America covers mills in Argentina, Peru and Uruguay with capacity near 900 thousand tonnes of crude steel 1. In the third quarter its adjusted EBITDA was R$ 160 million, with scheduled shutdowns weighing on it 4.

People, rivals and problems

Gustavo Werneck da Cunha is chief executive and Rafael Dorneles Japur is chief financial officer; André Bier Gerdau Johannpeter chairs the board 1. ArcelorMittal Brasil and Gerdau were Brazil's two largest crude steel producers in 2024, according to Instituto Aço Brasil 1.

Werneck said they were expected to exceed 6 million tons in 2025, almost 30% of domestic steel sales 7. In the United States, Section 232 steel tariffs were raised to 50% in June 2025, which the company says favors local mills 1.

In the fourth quarter the company wrote off all R$ 373,135 thousand of Brazilian goodwill and recorded impairment losses on Brazilian plants, citing a smaller capital spending plan and weaker expected conditions 1.

The umbrella, in words

Metalúrgica Gerdau S.A. owns 97.9% of the voting common shares and so controls the board and management 1. The Gerdau family is its indirect controlling shareholder 2. Preferred shares carry no vote 1.

Gerdau owns 100% of Gerdau Summit, bought out of a joint venture with Sumitomo and The Japan Steel Works in February 2025 1. It owns 75% of Gerdau Corsa in Mexico, 53.94% of the Dona Francisca hydroelectric company and 40% of Newave Energia 1.

It also holds 44.66% of Brasil ao Cubo, 27.48% of the Juntos Somos Mais loyalty program and 1.32% of the railway operator MRS Logística 1. In April 2025 it bought Kloeckner Metals Brasil, now Comercial Gerdau Aços Planos, a flat steel distributor 1.

Its mining rights at Miguel Burnier, Várzea do Lopes and Gongo Soco in Minas Gerais came from the Votorantim Group in 2004 1.

Gerdau's 2026 capital spending plan is R$ 4.7 billion, and 66% of it was invested in the first nine months 4. Chief executive Werneck cut the earlier plan of R$ 6.0 billion, as SteelOrbis reported 6.

The Pindamonhangaba recycling center has begun operating 4. The Miguel Burnier mining project is in final integrated testing, with start-up expected in the fourth quarter 4.

Phase 1 of the Midlothian, Texas expansion carries a listed start-up in the second half of the year, potential EBITDA of about R$ 275 million and capex of about R$ 1.2 billion 4. The mill has a scheduled maintenance shutdown in the fourth quarter 4.

For the fourth quarter the company foresees a stable margin in North America, on a solid order backlog from renewable energy and data centers, and compression in Brazil; it says this is not guidance 4. It also says USMCA talks continue with no concrete sign of a change in steel tariffs 4.

The board cancelled 277,600 common shares, and its 2026 repurchase program, up to 56.4 million shares, remains in effect 54. The fourth-quarter results are scheduled for 16 February 2027 4.