Why United States Steel Stock Is Grinding Higher After Hours

United States Steel Corp X shares are trading higher in Thursday's after-hours session after the company issued guidance for the first quarter.

What Happened: U.S. Steel announced that it expects first-quarter adjusted earnings to be in a range of 58 cents to 63 cents per share versus estimates of 41 cents per share. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to total $375 million in the first quarter. 

The company said its Flat-rolled segment's adjusted EBITDA is expected to be lower than the fourth quarter, due in part to the seasonal headwinds. Still, the segment's order book reflects broad improvements across most end markets.

The Mini Mill segment is expected to return to positive EBITDA in the first quarter, while the European segment's adjusted EBITDA is expected to be negative but better than previously thought.

The Tubular segment is expected to deliver continued EBITDA increases, mainly due to healthy customer demand, a strong product mix and increased average selling prices in the quarter.

"Strong safety and operating performance, improving order entry and our continued focus on winning share in strategic markets are resulting in better than expected first quarter guidance," said David Burritt, president and CEO of U.S. Steel.

"We expect these trends to continue into the second quarter given extending lead times and the flow-through of higher selling prices."

Management said it's turning "increasingly more bullish" on its 2023 performance outlook. U.S. Steel also noted that it expects to repurchase approximately $75 million of its common stock in the first quarter under its existing $500 million buyback.

See Also: FedEx Delivers An Upside Q3 Earnings Surprise: The Details

X Price Action: U.S. Steel shares were up 5.42% after hours at $25.85 at time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Janno Nivergall from Pixabay.