Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq: STLD) reported earnings on Oct. 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Steel Dynamics missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank significantly and GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Steel Dynamics reported revenue of $1.69 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $1.79 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 17% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.04 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.08. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.12 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.06 for Q3 were 68% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.19 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 9.2%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.8%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.8%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.77 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.15.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $7.49 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.69.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 934 members out of 971 rating the stock outperform, and 37 members rating it underperform. Among 184 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 177 give Steel Dynamics a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Steel Dynamics is outperform, with an average price target of $15.81.

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