Ryerson Holding Corporation Q4 FY2025 earnings call

• Welcome to new executives joining post merger with Olympic Steel, in early days of integration with experienced team focused on $120,000,000 annual run-rate synergies. • Underlying commodity price gumbo increased faster than anticipated in fourth quarter, but seeing encouraging strength in customer quote and order activity in 2026, expect gross margin expansion, operating income improvement. • Recently wrapped up review of classifications and realigned reporting for better business performance understanding. • Established integration team focused on combining best practices, optimizing asset utilization, capturing merger benefits. • Priorities for 2026 include continuing integration preserving customer experience and employee culture, realizing merger synergies, improving quality of earnings through service center fundamentals, reducing leverage to targeted range with updated capital allocation plans.

For 2025, Ryerson reported net sales of $1,100,000,000, a decrease of ~5% compared to previous quarter due to lower tons shipped, avg selling prices flat. Compared to 2024, net sales increased 9.7% with avg selling prices 6.3% higher and tons shipped up 3.1%. Fourth quarter revenue within guidance range, but material costs rose faster than anticipated, leading to weaker-than-expected gross margin and higher-than-expected LIFO expense. Operating expenses largely as expected, resulting in net loss of $38,000,000 or $1.18 per share, and adjusted EBITDA excluding LIFO of $20,000,000. In 2026, anticipate tons shipped up 13%-15% compared to 2025, same-store revenues $1,260,000,000 - $1,300,000,000, avg selling prices flat to up 2% q/q, expect net income for first quarter $10,000,000 - $12,000,000 before merger-related fees, LIFO expense $6,000,000 - $8,000,000, adjusted EBITDA excluding LIFO $51,000,000 - $54,000,000. Olympic Steel expected to generate accretive revenue $260,000,000 - $280,000,000 and adjusted EBITDA excluding LIFO $12,000,000 - $13,000,000 in last six weeks of quarter. Combined companies anticipate first-quarter revenue $1,520,000,000 - $1,580,000,000 and adjusted EBITDA excluding LIFO attainment $63,000,000 - $67,000,000. Fourth quarter capital expenditures $21,000,000, full-year $52,000,000, 2026 anticipate ~$50,000,000 same-store or $75,000,000 including Olympic Steel. Fourth quarter cash from operating activities $113,000,000, inventory days of supply 79, cash conversion cycle 68 days, decreased debt by $37,000,000 and net debt by $34,000,000, leverage ratio decreased from 3.7 to 3.1 times, ended fourth quarter with $502,000,000 liquidity, extended and expanded revolving credit facility to $1,800,000,000. Distributed $6,100,000 in dividends in fourth quarter, first-quarter dividend same amount, no share repurchases in fourth quarter with $38,400,000 remaining on authorization.

• Anticipate finishing 2026 quarter with tons shipped up 13% to 15% compared to 2025. • Same-store revenues expected $1,260,000,000 - $1,300,000,000 with avg selling prices flat to up 2% q/q. • Expect net income for first quarter 2026 $10,000,000 - $12,000,000 before merger-related fees. • Anticipate LIFO expense 2026 $6,000,000 - $8,000,000 and adjusted EBITDA excluding LIFO $51,000,000 - $54,000,000. • Olympic Steel expected to generate accretive revenue $260,000,000 - $280,000,000 and adjusted EBITDA excluding LIFO $12,000,000 - $13,000,000 in last six weeks of quarter. • Combined companies anticipate first-quarter revenue $1,520,000,000 - $1,580,000,000 and adjusted EBITDA excluding LIFO attainment $63,000,000 - $67,000,000. • 2026 anticipate ~$50,000,000 same-store capital expenditures or $75,000,000 including Olympic Steel.

Q: 4Q was negatively impacted by fast increase in prices and not being able to push prices higher. Are you right now still seeing any potential pushback from your customers about fully accepting these price increases?

A: Eddie mentioned pleasant surprise in business activity overall, quoting and conversion rates best in long time. Rick Marabito said getting price increases into market finally starting to happen, but end market and customer by customer, gradual pricing through.

Q: Given that the markets are improving, right, and you have bigger portfolio now. How are you thinking about capital allocation moving forward?

A: Edward J. Lehner said keep main thing main thing, focus on $120,000,000 annual run-rate synergies and deleveraging, then may look at growth. Rick Marabito said focusing on cash flow and getting debt down, continuing dividend.

Q: Just going back to Katja’s first question, this was not a Ryerson-specific headwind this week. But you talked about the challenge in passing through rising mill prices to customers. Were there products, and maybe aluminum, where that struggle was more pronounced than others?

A: Edward J. Lehner said aluminum has probably been slowest to propagate through but now picking up, carbon momentum upward, stainless starting to get price increases into price book.

Q: The first quarter same-store volume guidance up in the mid-teens sequentially, safely above your historical seasonality. Are you starting to see some restocking or some more activity from some of your major industrial customers?

A: Richard Marabito said 2025 transactional up 11+% and OEM down 8%, seeing stronger market consistent with stronger PMI print, industrial production and orders moving in same direction, also due to investments.

Q: Increasing the revolver by $500,000,000 to $1,800,000,000 in the context of trying to get back down to the leverage range. What is the chance you use this to explore more M&A, and if so, could you do this before the achievement of synergies, or are those mutually exclusive? And what do you feel you need to round out the now combined portfolio?

A: Richard Marabito said keep main thing main thing, selective with M&A, priority is getting marks, synergies, boosting performance. James J. Claussen said amended and extended ABL to work through merger and grow forward, full speed ahead on working through synergy case.

Q: Given you guys doing the merger, which sounds great, and then you have Klöckner being announced that they are going to be acquired. Can you talk about how you think about it longer term—more consolidation impact on Ryerson-Olympic and like that?

A: Richard Marabito said M&A activity lacking in sector, merger of Ryerson and Olympic Steel a fantastic opportunity, consolidation good for industry, helps get closer to customer, Andrew Greif leading integration councils, combination sends strong message to large customers about financial support and ability to offer better solutions.