Nucor vs Reliance
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Nucor and Reliance side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Nucor is the larger business, with $32.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $14.3B for Reliance, about 2.3 times as much.
- Nucor grew revenue faster (5.7%, against 3.3%).
- Reliance turned more of its sales into free cash flow (3.5% FCF margin, against −0.6%).
- Reliance earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (9.4%, against 8.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Reliance’s earnings: a P/E of 28.2x against 21.6x for Nucor.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Nucor
NUE
2/9
Revenue growthNet margin
Reliance
RS
6/9
5-year growthFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | NUE FY25 | RS FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $61.9B | $22.5B |
| Revenue | $32.5B | $14.3B |
| Free cash flow | −$188M | $503M |
| Net income | $1.7B | $739M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.7% | 3.3% |
| 5-year growth | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| Share count change | −3.1% | −6.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 11.9% | — |
| Operating margin | — | 7.1% |
| Net margin | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| FCF margin | −0.6% | 3.5% |
| Return on capital | 8.6% | 9.4% |
| Return on equity | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $4.4B | $1.2B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.0x | 0.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.2B | $594M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 21.6x | 28.2x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.