Unusual Options Activity Tue 6/11/24

The following options are exhibiting notable trading, potentially indicating changing sentiment toward the underlying stocks, and/or potentially representing positioning for increased volatility.

Bullish Call Activity:

• RIOT Weekly Jun14 10 calls (volume: 7.4K, open int: 10.2K, implied vol: ~79%, prev day implied vol: 73%). Co is expected to report earnings mid-August.
• SIRI Jun 2.5 calls (volume: 15.4K, open int: 590, implied vol: ~50%, prev day implied vol: 45%). 1330 contracts traded in a single transaction. Co is expected to report earnings mid-July.
• INTC Weekly Jun28 31.5 calls (volume: 2310, open int: 510, implied vol: ~33%, prev day implied vol: 31%). Co is expected to report earnings late July.
• WFC July 65 calls (volume: 20.6K, open int: 24.7K, implied vol: ~27%, prev day implied vol: 25%). 17.2K traded in a single transaction. Co at conference said older office buildings in large cities are seeing some stress related to commercial real estate. Co is confirmed to report earnings July 12 before the open.
  

Bearish Put Activity:

• X Weekly Jun14 36 puts (volume: 1200, open int: 0, implied vol: ~36%, prev day implied vol: 32%). Co is expected to report earnings late July. In late May, US Steel and Nippon Steel announced receipt of all non-U.S. regulatory approvals for merger.
• ORCL Jun 122 puts are seeing interest ahead of earnings tonight (volume: 1600, open int: 710, implied vol: ~36%, prev day implied vol: 33%).
  

Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 0.90, VIX: (13.15, +0.41, +3.2%).
June 21 is options expiration -- the last day to trade June equity options.

===U.S. Steel (X) to be acquired by Nippon Steel Corporation (NPSCY) for $19.9B or $55.00/share

 

• Cos announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which NSC will acquire U. S. Steel in an all-cash transaction at $55.00 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $14.1 billion plus the assumption of debt, for a total enterprise value of $14.9 billion. The $55.00 per share purchase price represents a 40% premium to U. S. Steel's closing stock price on December 15, 2023. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both NSC and U. S. Steel.
• The transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarter of calendar year 2024, subject to approval by U. S. Steel's shareholders, receipt of customary regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. NSC plans to fund the transaction through proceeds mainly from borrowings from certain Japanese banks and has already secured financing commitments. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions.
• NSC to honor all collective bargaining agreements with United Steelworkers Union as part of commitment to maintaining strong stakeholder relations.
• U. S. Steel to retain its iconic name and headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA.
• Transaction represents culmination of U. S. Steel's robust strategic alternatives process.

This week's biggest % winners & losers: Oct 25 - 29, 2021 (wk 43)

The following are this week's top percentage gainers and losers, categorized by sectors (over $300 mln market cap and 100K average daily volume).

This week's top % gainers

• Healthcare: CARA (16.49 +29.84%), SLP (50.44 +28.11%), GRTS (10.93 +22.4%), MEDP (226.16 +20.92%), ARRY (21.21 +18.36%)
• Industrials: BE (31.17 +54.36%), ENPH (230.96 +30.71%), X (26.39  +15.34%)
• Consumer Discretionary: NEW (0.58 +28.37%), TSLA (1101.87 +21.13%), OSTK (96.49 +19.21%), MMYT (31.55 +17.77%)
• Information Technology: ATEN (18.72 +38.15%), CREE (120.87 +35.14%), PI (69.55 +26.43%), SLAB (189.55 +25.11%), MXL (62.8 +18.78%), TER (137.45 +18.37%)
• Financials: CADE (29.12 +35.57%), LC (46.43 +35.09%), LOB (88.08 +20.86%)

This week's top % losers

• Healthcare: DBVT (3.09 -44.02%), CDNA (50.91 -29.38%), ALNY (159.61 -19.64%)
• Materials: CENX (13.33 -14.75%)
• Industrials: UPWK (47.09 -19.78%), PRLB (59.43 -16.83%), TISI (2.41 -16.2%), AZUL (13.35 -15.05%)
• Consumer Discretionary: AAN (23.44 -22.64%), THRM (73.24 -16.21%), FTDR (37.08 -15.17%), TAL (4.1 -14.94%), MHK (177.21 -7.76%)
• Information Technology: CVLT (61.61 -19.22%), TWLO (293.07 -18.18%)
• Financials: JRVR (31.95 -18.22%), HOOD (34.97  -11.67%),  MGI (6.17  -9.41%)
• Energy: BTU (11.93 -15.72%)
• Consumer Staples: TPB (38.14 -19.71%)

U.S. Steel (X) reported earnings on Thur 28 Oct 21 (a/h)

 ** charts before earnings **

 

 

 

 

** charts after earnings **

 

U.S. Steel announces $300 mln stock repurchase program; increases quarterly dividend to $0.05/share from $0.01/share

X U.S. Steel beats by $0.43, beats on revs

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $5.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.43 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $4.93; revenues rose 154.9% year/year to $5.96 bln vs the $5.75 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

Earnings this week : Oct 25 - 29, 2021 (wk 43)

 

Monday, October 25: Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB), Facebook (FB) and Universal Health (NYSE:UHS).

Tuesday, October 26: UPS (NYSE:UPS), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV), Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS), Visa (NYSE:V), Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD).

Wednesday, October 27: FISV, Boeing (NYSE:BA), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Kraft-Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM).

• Afternoon: AFL AEM AGI ALGN ALGT ALSN NLY AM AR ACGL ASGN AZPN AVB AXS NTB BHE BMRN BOOT BCOV CACI CG CCS CHX CHDN CINF CNO CDE CTSH FIX CYH CNMD CLB CONE DRE EBAY EW ESI EHC ENSG EQT EQC ETD RE EVTC EXR FLEX FLS F FORM FWRD GSHD THG PI NGVT ISBC INVH IRBT JBT KRC KLAC KN LC MXL MTH MEOH MAA MKSI MC MOH MSA MUSA MYRG NTGR NDLS ORLY OII PGRE PEGA PDM PPC PLXS PPD RJF SIGI SCI NOW SIMO SNBR SSB SAVE SRI TDOC TROX TTMI TWLO TYL UCTT URI UPWK VICI WCN WOLF WH XLNX YUMC

Thursday, October 28: Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), Merck (NYSE:MRK), MasterCard (NYSE:MA), Apple (AAPL), Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM), Amazon (AMZN), Altria Group (NYSE:MO), Hershey (NYSE:HSY), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX).

• Morning: FLWS AOS ABMD AGCO ATI ALGM ADS AB ALNY MO AEP AMT BUD AVNT BAX BPMC BC CRS CARR CAT CBZ CBRE CHKP CLVT CMS CNX COLB CMCO CMCSA COR CFR DBD EXP EME FCN THRM GPI HSY HBAN IDA ITW IMAX INSM ITGR ICE JHG KBR KDP KEX LH TREE LECO LIN LKQ MA MDC MPW MD MRK MDP TAP MCO COOP NEM NLSN NOC NVCR NVT OSK OSIS OSTK PATK PTEN PBF BTU PRFT PRLB PACK RLGY RS RGEN RDS.A SAIA SNY SNDR SHOP SIRI SWI SAH SMP SWK STM TROW TFX TPX TXT TW TRS VLY VC WST WEX WLTW WNS XEL YUM
• Afternoon: ACHC AMZN ABCB AAPL ATR AJG TEAM AVTR AVT AX BIO CPT CDNA CWST CHE COHU COLM OFC CUZ DVA DECK DXCM DRQ EMN EIG ENVA EXPO FHI FE FTV FTAI FTDR GLPI GILD LOPE HIG HTGC HTH HUBG KMPR KNSL LMAT LPLA LTC MGRC MERC MMSI MSTR MHK MPWR NATI NXGN OPK PEB POLY POWI PTCT RNST RSG RMD SGEN SPNE SKX SKYW SM SPSC SSNC STAG SBUX SYK TEX TXRH X VRSN VCRA WRE WERN WDC AUY ZEN

Friday, October 29: Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) and L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX).

• Morning: ABBV AON ABR B BAH CCJ CRI CBOE CERN CHTR CVX CHD CL XOM FTS GWW HUN IMGN IMO LAZ LYB NWL PSX PSXP PNM POR PFS RCL SJR SHLX SLCA WPC WY WETF

=U.S. Steel (X) reported earnings on Thur 31 Oct 19 (a/h)

U.S. Steel beats by $0.06, reports slight beat on revs, reports EBITDA at high end of prior guidance

Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $(0.21) per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.27) and within prior guidance of $(0.26)-(0.20); revenues fell 17.7% year/year to $3.07 bln vs the $3.04 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

• Adjusted EBITDA fell 73% yr/yr to $144 mln, at the high end of prior guidance of $134-144 mln and above consensus of $139.9 mln.

"While market headwinds persist, we continue to focus on what we can control, including re-scoping our asset revitalization investments and reducing fixed costs...We are using today's market environment as a catalyst to improve our business model."

-=U.S. Steel (X) acquires 49.9% ownership interest in Big River Steel

U.S. Steel acquires 49.9% ownership interest in Big River Steel for approximately $700 mln in cash 

The co announced a joint venture partnership agreement under which it has taken the first step towards acquiring Big River Steel ("Big River") through the purchase of a 49.9% ownership interest at a purchase price of approximately $700 million in cash, with a call option to acquire the remaining 50.1% within the next four years. U. S. Steel has committed financing to execute the transaction. The implied enterprise value of Big River, including the expected completion of its Phase II-A expansion, which is fully funded and already under construction, is approximately $2.325 billion.

• This transaction minimizes the risk of operational and financial execution while maximizing the potential for value creation. This transaction provides numerous strategic and financial benefits to U. S. Steel, some of which will begin to be implemented immediately upon the closing of this transaction, while others would become fully realized upon full ownership of Big River.

=U.S. Steel (X) guides Q3 EPS below consensus

U.S. Steel guides Q3 EPS below consensus, note: Nucor also guided lower on Monday; co expects idled blast furnaces in US and Europe to remain idled thru at least the end of the year

Co expects Q3 adjusted EBITDA of approximately $115 mln, which excludes $53 mln from the December 24, 2018 fire at its Clairton coke making facility and estimated restructuring charges.

Co expects Q3 adjusted EPS of approx $(0.35) vs CapitalIQ consensus of $0.01.

Co says that the the positive flat-rolled steel market indicators experienced earlier this summer have softened after a brief recovery in steel selling prices. The impact of falling steel prices through Q2 combined with the impact of a larger than expected drop in scrap prices on market sentiment, is expected to negatively impact Flat-rolled earnings in 2H19.

As a result, co expects that two blast furnaces will remain idled through at least the end of the year. Based on the continued idling of two US blast furnaces and current demand forecasts, co now expects full year Flat-rolled shipments to be approximately 10.7 million tons.

In Europe, market conditions have continued to deteriorate, as the dislocation between steel selling prices and raw material costs continues to result in significant margin compression. Co does not expect to restart the currently idled blast furnace this year.

Co expects its Tubular segment to remain under pressure for the remainder of the year as market conditions have turned negative and import levels remain high.

=U.S. Steel (X) reported earnings on Wed 30 Jan 2019 (a/h)

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ United States Steel Corp. (X) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $592 million.

The Pittsburgh-based company said it had profit of $3.33 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $1.82 per share.

The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.88 per share.

The steel maker posted revenue of $3.69 billion in the period, which also fell short of Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.75 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.12 billion, or $6.25 per share. Revenue was reported as $14.18 billion.

U.S. Steel shares have risen 22 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen almost 7 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $22.23, a fall of 42 percent in the last 12 months.

U.S. Steel: Earnings Preview

US Steel (X), a major steel producer, is set to report Q4 results today after the close with a call tomorrow morning at 8:30am ET. Last quarter, US Steel reported at 16:15 ET, or 15 minutes after the close.

The street is looking for Q4 EPS of $1.83 and revenue of $3.77 bln. X does not provide revenue and EPS guidance, but it does guide for EBITDA and, on November 1, X guided to Q4 EBITDA of $575 mln and full year EBITDA of $1.8 bln. US Steel's business is pretty seasonal with Q4-Q1 being slower due to colder weather, especially for construction. Q2 and Q3 are typically much more robust.

One thing to keep in mind with US Steel is that, unlike most other steelmakers, it has fairly high exposure to the oil & gas tubing market, it's called OCTG. Automotive, construction, appliances are also key markets.

Key Topics:

• With US Steel never guiding for revs/EPS and with their accounting being pretty complex, it's difficult for analysts to get a good sense for revs and EPS (although EBITDA can be compared to guidance). As such, US Steel's earnings can vary pretty wildly relative to consensus. With that said, after a miss in 1Q17, X has reported six EPS beats in a row and most have been in the double-digit range.
• Something to be aware of is that US Steel is undergoing what it calls its asset revitalization plan for tis Flat-Rolled segment. It's a $2 billion investment plan, including about $1.5 bln being spent from 2017 to 2020. The goal is to revitalize its assets in order to increase profitability, productivity and operational stability, and reduce volatility. The program does have some impact on financial results from time to time due to outages. The good news is that X has said the plan in 2019 is to be a series of smaller projects, so it's less disruptive to operations.
• On the Q3 call, X said it experienced a longer-than-expected buyer strike and a faster-than-anticipated drop in selling prices over the last two months (Sep-Oct). X said it views this as just a timing difference as steel demand has remained strong and in November it was seeing higher daily order rates, longer lead times and improved pricing. Any updates on this will be important.
• On the labor front, X announced in mid-November the ratification of new 4-year labor deals with the United Steelworkers (USW). These agreements will cover 14,000 USW-represented employees and they go thru Sep 1, 2022.
• Tariffs have been a key topic in the steel industry generally in recent months, however, US Steel tends not to discuss them as much as some other steelmakers, most notably Nucor (NUE). However, these tariffs have helped US Steel secure some nice price increases last summer. So if they provide any color on this front, it'll be important.
• Finally, US Steel has seen its stock price trend lower in recent months, but it has staged a nice comeback over the past month or so heading into this Q4 report. Other steelmakers (NUE and STLD) have reported good earnings results this cycle. Hopefully, X will follow suit. Other names to watch include steel producers (AKS, CMC, GGB, MT, NUE, PKX, SCHN, STLD) and steel processors (ROCK, RS, RYI, WOR, ZEUS).

Earnings this week : Jan 28 - Feb. 1, 19 (wk 5)

So far, 22% of the S&P 500 has reported quarterly results.

• A myriad of large/mega cap bellwethers will report quarterly results next week, including Caterpillar on Monday morning and four of the largest technology companies in the world: Apple on Tuesday afternoon, Microsoft and Facebook on Wednesday and Amazon on Thursday.

Earnings confirmed to report this week:

Monday (Jan 28) 

• Morning: BOH CAT
• Afternoon:  AKS BRO CE CR ELS ETH GGG HTLF IBTX JJSF RGA RMBS SANM SSB WHR WSBC WWD

Mon pm/Tue am
https://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&ta=0&o=-volume&t=AKS,BRO,CE,CR,ELS,ETH,GGG,HTLF,IBTX,JJSF,RGA,RMBS,SANM,SSB,WHR,WSBC,WWD,AGN,ALV,AOS,AXE,BIIB,CIT,CVLT,DHR,DOV,EAT,EXP,EXTR,FBP,GLW,GPK,HCA,HOG,HRS,KNX,LLL,LMT,MMM,MTOR,NUE,PCAR,PFE,PHG,PHM,PII,PNR,POL,PPBI,ROK,SAP,UMC,VZ,XRX

Tuesday (Jan 29)

• Morning:  AGN ALV AOS AXE BIIB CIT CVLT DHR DOV EAT EXP EXTR FBP GLW GPK HCA HOG HRS KNX LLL LMT MMM MTOR NUE PCAR PFE PHG PHM PII PNR POL PPBI ROK SAP UMC VZ XRX
• Afternoon: AAPL ALGN AMD AMGN AX BXP CHRW CNI COHR EBAY ILMN JNPR KLAC MSTR MXIM NATI PFG PKG RHI RNR SIMO SLGN SYK TSS UMBF WRB

Tue pm/Wed am : https://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&ta=0&o=-volume&t=AAPL,ALGN,AMD,AMGN,AX,BXP,CHRW,CNI,COHR,EBAY,ILMN,JNPR,KLAC,MXIM,NATI,PFG,PKG,RHI,RNR,SIMO,SLGN,SYK,TSS,UMBF,WRB,,ADP,ALLY,ANTM,AVY,AXTA,BA,BABA,BEN,CHKP,EVR,GD,HES,IR,IVZ,MCD,NDAQ,OSK,PB,RCL,SC,SIRI,SLAB,SMG,T,TCF,TMO,TUP
Wednesday (Jan 30)

• Morning: ADP ALLY ANTM AVY AXTA BA BABA BEN CHKP EVR GD HES IBN  IR IVZ MCD NDAQ OSK PB RCL SC SIRI SLAB SMG T TCF TMO TUP
• Afternoon:  AFG AGNC ALGT AMP ARCB AXS BDN CACC CACI CLB CMPR CREE CRUS DLB DRE EFII EGOV ESS EZPW FB FICO FLEX GHL HOLX ISBC LLNW LSTR MAA MDLZ MEOH MLNX MSFT MTH MUR MUSA NOW PYPL QCOM RXN SEIC SXI THG TSLA TTEK V WYNN  X

Wed pm/Thur am : https://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&ta=0&o=-volume&t=AFG,AGNC,ALGT,AMP,ARCB,AXS,BDN,CACC,CACI,CLB,CMPR,CREE,CRUS,DLB,DRE,EFII,EGOV,ESS,EZPW,FB,FICO,FLEX,GHL,HOLX,ISBC,LLNW,LSTR,MAA,MDLZ,MEOH,MLNX,MSFT,MTH,MUR,MUSA,NOW,PYPL,QCOM,RXN,SEIC,SXI,THG,TSLA,TTEK,V,WYNN,X,ABC,ABMD,APO,APRN,APTV,BAX,BC,BHGE,BLL,BMS,BX,CELG,CFR,CHTR,CMCO,CMS,CNX,CNXM,COP,CRR,CRS,DWDP,EPD,ETN,FCFS,FLWS,GE,HSY,IIVI,IP,KEM,KEX,KIM,LANC,MA,MAN,MDC,MIXT,MMC,MMP,MNRO,MO,MSCI,NOC,NOK,NS,NVT,OMN,PH,RACE,RDS-A,RFP,RTN,S,SHW,SILC,SNDR,TSCO,UPS,VLO,VLY,WCC,WRK,WRLD,XEL,XYL,YRCW

Thursday (Jan 31)

• Morning:  ABC ABMD APO APRN APTV BAX BC BHGE BLL BMS BX CELG CFR CHTR CMCO CMS CNX CNXM COP CRR CRS DWDP EPD ETN FCFS FLWS GE HSY IIVI IP KEM KEX KIM LANC MA MAN MDC MIXT MMC MMP MNRO MO MSCI NOC NOK NS NVT OMN PH RACE RDS.A RFP RTN S SHW SILC SNDR TSCO UPS VLO VLY WCC WRK WRLD XEL XYL YRCW
• Afternoon:  AFL AJG AMZN CLS CPT CY DECK EMN ENVA EPAY ESL EW EXPO FBHS HAYN KLIC LPLA MATW MCK MOD MTX NFG OTEX PFPT PKI POST SIGI SKYW SYMC WAIR YUMC

 Thur pm/Fri am : https://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&ta=0&o=-volume&t=AFL,AJG,AMZN,CLS,CPT,CY,DECK,EMN,ENVA,EPAY,ESL,EW,EXPO,FBHS,HAYN,KLIC,LPLA,MATW,MCK,MOD,MTX,NFG,OTEX,PFPT,PKI,POST,SIGI,SKYW,SYMC,WAIR,YUMC,AON,BAH,BERY,CI,CVX,CYOU,D,HMC,HON,IDXX,IMO,ITW,JCI,KKR,LYB,MINI,MRK,MSG,OSB,PFS,ROP,SBSI,SF,SNE,SOGO,SOHU,SPG,SPR,VRTS,WETF,WFT,WY,XOM,ZBH

Friday (Feb 1)

• Morning: AON BAH BERY CI CVX CYOU D HMC HON IDXX IMO ITW JCI KKR LYB MINI MRK MSG OSB PFS ROP SBSI SF SNE SOGO SOHU SPG SPR VRTS WETF WFT WY XOM ZBH

According to FactSet, fourth quarter reported earnings per share are up 12% with sales up 6.6%. Fourth quarter earnings are now expected to grow 11% with sales up 6.0%. Roughly 67% have exceeded earnings estimates while 55% have beaten revenue expectations. 59% of companies reporting earnings have traded higher in response.

First quarter EPS are now expected to grow just 0.5% with sales up 6%. For 2019, earnings are expected to grow 6.1% with sales up 5.3%.

-=U.S. Steel (X) reported earnings on Fri 27 Apr 2018 (b/o)

U.S. Steel beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; experiencing some operational challenges at Great Lakes Works 

• Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.32 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 15.6% year/year to $3.15 bln vs the $3.15 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co reports Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $255 mln, slightly above guidance of $250 mln.
  • In spite of operational issues related to weather and ongoing challenges with assets not yet revitalized, co says Q1 was in line with intenral expectations.
• Co raises 2018 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $1.70-1.80 bln, up from prior guidance of approx $1.70 bln.
• Co guides to Q2 adjusted EBITDA of approximately $400 mln.
• Co says it's beginning the second year of its asset revitalization program, and co is already seeing benefits from the investments. Co expects the possibility of continued operational volatility for those assets yet to be revitalized.
• Co is experiencing operational challenges at its steelmaking facility at Great Lakes Works that co expects will have an unfavorable EBITDA impact of approximately $30 mln on Q2 results. 

=U.S. Steel (X) reported earnings on Tue 31 Oct 2017 (a/h)

U.S. Steel beats by $0.22, beats on revs; reaffirms FY17 EPS above consensus 

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.92 per share, excluding items, $0.22 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.70; revenues rose 20.9% year/year to $3.25 bln vs the $3.07 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Adjusted EBITDA of $342 mln.
• 2017 Outlook - "We are seeing operating improvements in the assets in which we are investing. This increases our confidence that we will achieve the 2020 improvement targets we have disclosed. We believe the attention to our assets and employees, with continued focus on improving safety, quality, delivery, and cost, will result in improved operating reliability and enable us to remain a strong business partner for our customers... If market conditions remain at their current levels, we expect 2017 net earnings of ~$323 mln, or $1.83 per share, 2017 adjusted net earnings of ~$300 mln, or $1.70 per share [vs. $1.63 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate], and consolidated adjusted EBITDA of ~$1.075 bln [prior guidance $1.1 bln]." 

=U.S. Steel (X) reported earnings on Tue 25 Apr 2017 (a/h)

** charts before earnings **

 

U.S. Steel misses by $1.18, misses on revs; Guides FY17 EPS below consensus:

• Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.83 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $1.18 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.35; revenues rose 16.4% year/year to $2.73 bln vs the $2.91 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • First quarter results for our Flat-Rolled segment declined significantly compared with the fourth quarter, as we expected, primarily due to higher raw material costs, increased planned outage costs, seasonally lower results from our mining operations, and restart costs associated with the Granite City hot strip mill and our Keetac iron ore mine.
• Change in Accounting Estimate -- Capitalization and Depreciation Method
  • During the first quarter of 2017, we completed a review of our accounting policy for property, plant and equipment depreciated on a group basis. As a result of this review, we changed our accounting method for property, plant and equipment from the group method of depreciation to the unitary method of depreciation, effective as of January 1, 2017.

2017 Outlook

• "Market conditions have continued to improve, and we will realize greater benefits as these improved conditions are recognized more fully in our future results.
  • We issued equity last August to give us the financial strength and liquidity to position us to establish an asset revitalization plan large enough to resolve our issues, and to see that plan through to completion. As we get deeper into our asset revitalization efforts, we are seeing opportunities for greater efficiency in implementing our plan. We believe we can create more long-term and sustainable value by moving faster now.
• 2017 net earnings of approximately $260 million, or $1.50 per share (Capital IQ consensus $2.83), and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.1 billion;
• Results for our Flat-Rolled, European, and Tubular segments to be higher than 2016; 
• Other Businesses to be comparable to 2016 and approximately $50 million of postretirement benefit expense.