Nucor management check
NUE · Materials · Steel · CEO Leon J. Topalian
Filings as of
4 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $331, against $342 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.09 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.9% of net income$14.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.7bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 3.0 years of payThe CEO holds 164,154.47 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 3.0 years of pay. 12 insiders sold $45.4m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -4.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.4% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
8 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Leon J. Topalian. 8 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Materials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 46 | 40 | |
| Pay for performance | 54 | 77 | |
| CEO cost | 56 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | 38 | 38 | |
| Dilution | 99 | 71 | |
| Stable leadership | 85 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Steel, by management score. Nucor is 11th of 24 in its sector.
- 94STLDSteel Dynamics77
- 161LINLinde plc72
- 172SWSmurfit Westrock71
- 189AVYAvery Dennison69
- 203NUENucor68
- 231PPGPPG Industries66
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 27, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Leon J. Topalian | $14.9m | $27.6m | $5.3m | $331 | $342 | $1.7bn |
| 2024 | — | $19.0m | $335k | $7.0m | $233 | $238 | $2.0bn |
| 2023 | — | $22.5m | $40.1m | $7.4m | $343 | $282 | $4.5bn |
| 2022 | — | $23.1m | $37.3m | $6.5m | $256 | $203 | $7.6bn |
| 2021 | — | $11.6m | $52.1m | $5.2m | $218 | $168 | $6.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to ROE. Its other key measures: ROAIC, stock price.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Leon J Topalian (Chair and CEO) held 164,154.47 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 17, 2026, roughly $44.2m at that filing's price.
12 insiders sold $45.4m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldLeon J TopalianChair and CEO$18.8mAug 14, 2026
- SoldDavid A SumoskiExecutive Vice President$7.5mApr 30, 2026
- SoldAllen C BehrExecutive Vice President$4.4mAug 14, 2026
- SoldKenneth Rex QueryExecutive Vice President$3.4mJun 1, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 22, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jun 2, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Mar 3, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 27, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 20, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 4, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 14, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 15, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 8, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 9, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 25, 2022Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Mar 4, 2022Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 19, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $13.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 58% of net income, and $667.8m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $36.5bn | $41.5bn | $34.7bn | $30.7bn | $32.5bn |
| Net income | $6.8bn | $7.6bn | $4.5bn | $2.0bn | $1.7bn |
| Stock-based pay | $135.8m | $137.0m | $130.0m | $132.0m | $133.0m |
| Buybacks | $3.3bn | $2.8bn | $1.6bn | $2.2bn | $700.0m |
| Dividends | $483.5m | $534.0m | $515.0m | $522.0m | $512.0m |
| Diluted shares | 293m | 263m | 250m | 239m | 231m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.