United States Steel (X) Q4 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY 2023 adjusted EBITDA was $2.139B and adjusted net earnings were $1.195B; reported net earnings were $895M.

• Q4 reported net loss was $80M, or $0.36 per diluted share; adjusted net earnings were $167M, or $0.67 per diluted share.

• Safety performance reached a record best, including 0.04 OSHA Days Away from Work cases; total shareholder return was 96%.

Financial highlights

• FY 2023 adjusted EBITDA was $2.139B versus $4.290B in 2022; adjusted EBITDA margin was 11.8% versus 20.4%.

• FY net sales were $18.053B versus $21.065B; reported net earnings were $895M versus $2.524B, and adjusted net earnings were $1.195B versus $2.785B.

• Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $330M versus $443M year over year, with an 8% margin; Q4 free cash flow was negative $244M and investable free cash flow was $181M.

• FY operating cash flow was $2.100B; capital expenditures were $2.576B, compared with $3.505B and $1.769B, respectively, in 2022.

Outlook and guidance

• 2024 enterprise capital expenditures were expected to be $1.7B; Big River 2’s budget rose from $3.0B to ~$3.2B and the project remained on schedule for H2 2024.

• The Big River dual galvalume/galvanized coating line was scheduled for Q2 2024; Keetac’s direct-reduced-grade pellet investment was ramping up, with capacity to flex between 6M tons of blast-furnace pellets or 4M tons of DR-grade pellets.

• Nippon Steel transaction closing was expected in Q2 or Q3 2024, subject to transaction conditions and required approvals.