Commercial Metals' Core EBITDA Growth Cools After Two Quarters

The Tip Desk · October 15, 2026 · 3 min read

Fourth-quarter core EBITDA rose 35.1% year over year to $393.7 million as North America Steel Group adjusted EBITDA reached $317.5 million.

Commercial Metals (CMC), the Irving, Texas-based early-stage construction solutions company, reported fourth-quarter core EBITDA of $393.7 million, up 35.1% from a year earlier, after 78.6% year-over-year growth in the third quarter. Sequential core EBITDA rose 11.3%, slower than the 18.9% sequential increase in the prior quarter.

Net sales were $2.66 billion, up 25.7% from a year earlier and 7.1% sequentially. Core EBITDA margin expanded 100 basis points year over year to 14.8%. The margin gain reflected metal-margin expansion and the inclusion of the higher-margin precast business.

Net earnings were $212.5 million, or $1.91 a share, up 40.0% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $233.6 million, or $2.09 a share.

North America Steel Group adjusted EBITDA was $317.5 million, up 32.6% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 16.4%. Steel-products metal margin improved $42 per ton sequentially to $652, reflecting a $32 per ton rise in average selling price and a $10 per ton decline in scrap costs. Merchant bar shipments rose 27.5% year over year and 16.0% sequentially. Finished-goods shipment volumes increased 5.3% year over year. Rebar and downstream product volumes were essentially flat year over year. Downstream backlog volumes increased 15.5% year over year.

Construction Solutions Group net sales were $431.4 million and adjusted EBITDA was $101.7 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 23.6%. Precast sales and adjusted EBITDA were $190.8 million and $57.0 million. Precast adjusted EBITDA fell below management’s prior expectations, primarily due to regional residential softness that reduced volumes and created regional margin mix headwinds. Precast shipments decreased year over year, with weakness in the Southeast more than offsetting growth in the Mid-Atlantic. Bookings were up year over year and 12.6% sequentially. Backlog increased roughly 3% from the prior year. Tensar results were largely consistent with the prior quarter and year-ago period. Performance Reinforcing Steel’s results were lower due to an unplanned outage at Galvabar.

Europe Steel Group adjusted EBITDA was $15.6 million. The year-over-year comparison was impacted by a $30.7 million CO2 credit recognized in the prior year and none in the current period. Metal margin expanded $32 per ton year over year as average selling price increased $44 per ton and scrap costs increased $12 per ton. Finished-goods shipment volumes increased 0.8%.

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $778.9 million as of August 31, 2026, and available liquidity was over $2.0 billion. Net leverage adjusted for acquisitions ended the quarter at 1.9x, below the 2x target. During the quarter, the company repurchased 383,333 shares valued at $26.7 million. $702.1 million remained available under the current share repurchase authorization. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 a share, payable November 11, 2026.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, North America Steel Group adjusted EBITDA is expected to be nearly flat versus the fourth quarter, with improved pricing expected to largely offset higher scrap costs, startup expenses, and a slight seasonal decline in shipments. Construction Solutions Group adjusted EBITDA is expected to be down sequentially on typical seasonal trends. Europe Steel Group is anticipated to show meaningful sequential growth, including a CO2 credit.

President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Matt said the company expects fiscal 2027 to be another strong year, supported by a healthy and balanced market backdrop and growing contribution from TAG, growth investments, and an evolving early-stage construction portfolio.