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Investing in steel stocks

What to know before investing in this staple engineering and construction material.

Updated

Jan 5, 2021

Fact checked

There are over 3,500 grades of steel that serve different purposes, from cars and washing machines to construction projects and surgical scalpels. Steel is a major player in construction worldwide, but significant issues will face the industry in the coming years.

What are steel stocks?

Steel stocks are companies that mine and manufacture steel products. The top three steel producing countries in the world are China, India and Japan.
Steel is an alloy made of mostly iron and up to 2% of carbon. It’s mainly used in construction, such as building infrastructure and tools, and household items such as sewing needles and canned foods.

Why invest in steel stocks?

Steel is a trusted and versatile construction material and is beloved for its durability, flexibility and low cost. Steel stocks perform well when the economy is strong.
In the past decade, China has seen explosive growth and maintains a high steel demand. Other large infrastructure projects around the world also up the demand for steel products, leading to higher profits and returns. And as the economy flourishes, the need for new buildings and construction continues to fuel the steel industry.

What stocks are in the steel sector?

Steel stocks include companies that manufacture metal products as well as those that produce and recycle steel. See how the following stocks are performing, and view details like market capitalization, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio and dividend yield.

Company summary
Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. It offers aluminum, copper, iron ore, diamonds, gold, borates, titanium dioxide, salt, silver, molybdenum, and lithium. The company also owns and operates open pit and underground mines, refineries, smelters, and concentrator facilities, as well as power stations, research, and service facilities. Rio Tinto Group was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $111602933760
- P/E ratio: 13.0519
- PEG ratio: 0
- Dividend yield: 0.0565%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy RIO.US stock
Company summary
Vale S.A., together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services. The Energy Transition Materials segment produces and extracts nickel used to produce stainless steel, electric vehicles, and metal alloys; and its by-products, such as gold, silver, cobalt, precious metals, platinum, and others, as well as copper used in the construction sector to produce pipes and electrical wires. The company was formerly known as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and changed its name to Vale S.A. in May 2009. Vale S.A. was founded in 1942 and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $63596122112
- P/E ratio: 7.0381
- PEG ratio: 10.6376
- Dividend yield: 0.082%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy VALE.US stock
Company summary
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries. It sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, which primarily include small machine shops and fabricators. The company was founded in 1939 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $15949981696
- P/E ratio: 11.6267
- PEG ratio: 1.2
- Dividend yield: 0.0144%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy RS.US stock
Company summary
United States Steel Corporation produces and sells flat-rolled and tubular steel products primarily in North America and Europe. It operates through four segments: North American Flat-Rolled (Flat-Rolled), Mini Mill, U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-Rolled segment offers slabs, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as iron ore and coke. This segment serves customers in the service center, conversion, transportation, automotive, construction, container, appliance, and electrical markets. The Mini Mill segment provides hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated sheets and electrical steel products. This segment serves customers in the automotive, appliance, construction, container, pipe and tube, sheet converter, electrical, industrial equipment, and service center markets. The USSE segment provides slabs, strip mill plates, sheets, tin mill products, and spiral welded pipes. This segment serves customers in the construction, container, appliance and electrical, service center, conversion, oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The Tubular segment offers seamless and electric resistance welded steel casing and tubing products, as well as standard and line pipe and mechanical tubing products primarily to customers in the oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The company also engages in the real estate business. United States Steel Corporation was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $8147577856
- P/E ratio: 7.8728
- PEG ratio: 1.68
- Dividend yield: 0.0055%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy X.US stock
Company summary
Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products, and related materials and services in the United States, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through two segments, North America and Europe. The company processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals to steel mills and foundries, aluminum sheet and ingot manufacturers, brass and bronze ingot makers, copper refineries and mills, secondary lead smelters, specialty steel mills, high temperature alloy manufacturers, and other consumers. It also manufactures and sells finished long steel products, including reinforcing bar, merchant bar, light structural, and other special sections, as well as semi-finished billets for rerolling and forging applications. In addition, the company provides fabricated rebar used to reinforce concrete primarily in the construction of commercial and non-commercial buildings, hospitals, convention centers, industrial plants, power plants, highways, bridges, arenas, stadiums, and dams; sells and rents construction-related products and equipment to concrete installers and other businesses; and manufactures and sells strength bars for the truck trailer industry, special bar steels for the energy market, and armor plates for military vehicles. Further, it manufactures rebars, merchant bars, and wire rods; and sells fabricated rebars, wire meshes, fabricated meshes, assembled rebar cages, and other fabricated rebar by-products to fabricators, manufacturers, distributors, and construction companies. The company was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $5399965696
- P/E ratio: 6.4008
- PEG ratio: 12.2526
- Dividend yield: 0.0138%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy CMC.US stock
Company summary
Gerdau S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. It operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business divisions. The company provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets. It also offers flat products, such as hot-rolled steel coils and heavy plates; and resells flat steel products. In addition, the company operates three mines that produce iron ore located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It sells its products through independent distributors, direct sales from the mills, and its retail network. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in São Paulo, Brazil.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $7845790208
- P/E ratio: 4.9833
- PEG ratio: 0
- Dividend yield: 0.0705%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy GGB.US stock
Company summary
Worthington Industries, Inc., an industrial manufacturing company, focuses on consumer products, building products, and sustainable energy solutions in North America and internationally. It offers value-added processor of carbon flat-rolled steel; precision magnetic steel laminations for automotive, industrial motor, generator, and transformer industries; and material sourcing, metallurgical analysis, engineering, prototyping and product design, tooling services; and tailor welded products. The company also provides propane-filled cylinders for torches, camping stoves and other applications; and LPG cylinders, handheld torches, helium-filled balloon kits, specialized hand tools and instruments, and drywall tools and accessories under the Coleman, Bernzomatic, Balloon Time, Mag-Torch, General, Garden-Weasel, Pactool International, Hawkeye, Worthington Pro Grade, and Level5 brands. In addition, it offers LPG cylinders, well water and expansion tanks, and other specialty products including fire suppression tanks, chemical tanks, foam, and adhesive tanks for gas producers and distributors. Further, the company sells onboard fueling systems and related services, as well as gas containment solutions and services for the storage, transport, and distribution of industrial gases; and provides high pressure and acetylene cylinders for life support systems, and alternative fuel cylinders used to hold CNG and hydrogen for automobiles, buses, and light-duty trucks. Worthington Industries, Inc. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $2505764864
- P/E ratio: 7.8359
- PEG ratio: 0.35
- Dividend yield: 0.0281%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy WOR.US stock
Company summary
Steel Dynamics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. It operates through three segments: Steel Operations, Metals Recycling Operations, and Steel Fabrication Operations. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products. This segment also engages in turning, polishing, straightening, chamfering, threading, precision saw-cutting, and heat treating of bar products. Its products are used in construction, automotive, manufacturing, transportation, heavy and agriculture equipment, and pipe and tube markets. The Metals Recycling Operations segment is involved in the ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal processing, transportation, marketing, brokerage, and scrap management services. Its ferrous products include heavy melting steel, busheling, bundled scrap, shredded scrap, steel turnings, and cast-iron products; and nonferrous products comprise aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, and other nonferrous metals. The Steel Fabrication Operations segment produces steel non-residential building components, such as steel joists, girders, trusses, and steel deck products for non-residential steel fabricators, metal building companies, general construction contractors, developers, owners, brokers, governmental entities, and e-commerce data centers and warehouses. The company also exports its products. Steel Dynamics, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $19377465344
- P/E ratio: 7.6323
- PEG ratio: 10.9053
- Dividend yield: 0.0142%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy STLD.US stock
Company summary
Olympic Steel, Inc. processes, distributes, and stores metal products in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Carbon Flat Products; Specialty Metals Flat Products; and Tubular and Pipe Products. The company offers stainless steel and aluminum coil and sheet products, angles, rounds, and flat bars; alloy, heat treated, and abrasion resistant coils, sheets and plates; coated metals, including galvanized, galvannealed, electro galvanized, advanced high strength steels, aluminized, and automotive grades of steel; commercial quality, advanced high strength steel, drawing steel, and automotive grades cold rolled steel coil and sheet products; hot rolled carbon comprising hot rolled coil, pickled and oiled sheet and plate steel products, automotive grades, advanced high strength steels, and high strength low alloys; tube, pipe, and bar products, including round, square, and rectangular mechanical and structural tubing; hydraulic and stainless tubing; boiler tubing; carbon, stainless, and aluminum pipes; valves and fittings; and tin mill products, such as electrolytic tinplate, electrolytic chromium coated steel, and black plates. The company also provides cutting-to-length, slitting, shearing, blanking, tempering, stretcher-leveling, plate and laser processing, forming and machining, tube processing, finishing, and fabrication services, as well as value-added services, such as saw cutting, laser cutting, beveling, threading, and grooving services. It serves metal consuming industries, such as manufacturers and fabricators of transportation and material handling lift equipment, construction, mining and farm equipment, agriculture equipment, storage tanks, environmental and energy generation equipment, automobiles, food service, and electrical equipment, as well as general and plate fabricators, and metals service centers through direct sales force. Olympic Steel, Inc. was founded in 1954 and is based in Highland Hills, Ohio
Historical performance
Stock information
- Market capitalization: $656149504
- P/E ratio: 16.1479
- PEG ratio: 0.46
- Dividend yield: 0.0087%
Get more detailed information and learn how to buy ZEUS.US stock

What ETFs track the steel category?

A steel exchange-traded fund (ETF) holds securities that are connected to the steel industry. The only ETF that tracks steel is VanEck Vectors Steel ETF (SLX).

Risks of investing in steel

While steel currently plays a major part in our daily lives, there are specific risks involved in investing in steel and its uncertain future:

Fewer large steel mills. The costly investment and environmental concerns — which prompted government policies like the 1970 Clean Air Act — have suppressed the construction of new steel plants.
Steel alternatives. New building materials are gaining traction in new construction projects. For example, engineered timber is sustainable, a quicker, cleaner building material, and just as strong as steel.
Recycled steel. You can recycle steel continuously without compromising its strength. The greater availability of recycled steel can reduce the prices of steel stocks, potentially eliminating the need for steel production in the next 30 years.
Tariffs. Trade wars and tariffs can negatively affect steel stock prices. For example, the 2018 US tariffs against China imports, which were first imposed on steel and aluminum, are estimated to have cost US companies at least $1.7 trillion in stock prices.

How to buy steel stocks

If steel stocks are right for you, here’s a breakdown of how to get started.

1. Research stocks

Before you invest in steel stocks, evaluate the companies that produce steel or use it to make products. Examine their financial statements. Take a close look at their assets, liabilities, shareholder equity and other metrics found on their balance sheet. You can usually find this on the investor relations section of a company’s website.
You also may want to check whether the company has announced any plans to deal with present challenges such as production issues or dealing with potential trade tariffs. In addition, you can also look to see how a company sizes up against its competitors. By closely examining these companies, you can get a good sense of what may be a good investment.

2. Open a brokerage account

Before you begin making trades, you need to open a brokerage account. You can choose from plenty of online brokerage accounts, but they can differ vastly in terms of fees and tools. So make sure you compare your options.
If you’re new to investing, consider investment apps for beginners like Robinhood or SoFi. If you’re an experienced investor check out brokerages like TD Ameritrade or Vanguard which offer sophisticated research and analytical tools.

3. Purchase Stocks

Once you’ve opened and funded your brokerage account, you can begin buying stocks. Simply look up a stock by company name or ticker symbol. Then, decide the number of shares you want to buy and place your order.

Market projections for steel stocks

Global steel production volume is expected to rise to 2175 million tonnes by 2024, according to Research and Markets. Throughout this course, the industry is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.50%
This growth is expected to be driven by factors such as the expansion of urban populations and increased spending on construction and infrastructure projects. China is expected to remain the largest producer of steel, partly driven by a boost in the production of automobiles and electrical appliances. However, price volatility could be a major challenge to steel stock investing in the coming years.

Compare trading platforms

You’ll need a brokerage account to invest in steel. Take a look at a few options below:

1 - 6 of 6

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Bottom line

The steel industry is a staple in the world’s industrial economy. Steel stocks can be profitable when the economy is booming, but keep your eye on how tariffs and developments in the steel industry affect stock prices.
Compare trading platforms to start investing in steel.

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Kimberly Ellis

Kimberly Ellis is a personal finance writer at Finder, specializing in banking and financial literacy. After teaching in public and private schools, Kimberly zeroed in on personal financial education to help families and kids develop lifelong money skills. She hails from New York City, graduating summa cum laude from Queens College with a BA in elementary education and mathematics, as well as a New York State teaching certificate. She’s also an aspiring polyglot, always in a book and forever on the hunt for the perfect classic red lipstick.

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Investing in steel stocks

What to know before investing in this staple engineering and construction material.

What are steel stocks?

Why invest in steel stocks?

What stocks are in the steel sector?

Rio Tinto ADR (RIO.US)

Vale SA ADR (VALE.US)

Reliance Steel-and-Aluminum (RS.US)

United States Steel Corporation (X.US)

Commercial Metals Company (CMC.US)

Gerdau SA ADR (GGB.US)

Worthington Industries (WOR.US)

Steel Dynamics (STLD.US)

Olympic Steel (ZEUS.US)