Does Steel Dynamics, Inc. have an economic moat?

Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) 55.8 out of 100 — a Shallow moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 24, pricing power 5, returns on capital 76, balance-sheet safety 77, capital allocation 97.

Is STLD trading below the conservative owner-earnings estimate?

The value if growth stopped today — a zero-growth baseline — is $187.88 per share. It capitalizes normalized owner earnings at a 9% rate and assumes 0% growth. Versus a recent price of $242.92, that is 29% above value if growth stopped today. The model also publishes a capped-growth comparison, but the zero-growth estimate is the cautious baseline. It assumes trailing owner earnings persist and is unreliable for declining businesses. This is an educational estimate from primary SEC filings, not intrinsic value as a fact or investment advice.

How has STLD's Moat Score changed over time?

The record logs 28 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 55.8 out of 100 (shallow moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Steel Dynamics, Inc.

STLD · Industrials · $35.2B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · as of Oct 15, 2026 · Shallow moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

Shallow moat

The five investor questions

2021–2025 (latest 5 aligned FYs; v3 window cap 5): revenue $18.4B to $18.2B, decreasing; diluted EPS 15.56 to 7.99, decreasing.

Median gross margin 17.2% over 10y, variable.

Median ROIC 16.8%, above the 12% hurdle in 70% of years.

Net debt/EBITDA 1.7x, interest coverage 21x.

Owner earnings changed +11.1%/yr over up to the ten most recent annual observations.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today

29% above value if growth stopped today

: $2.5B
: $187.88
: $304.37
: $242.92
: 29% above value if growth stopped today

What today’s price assumes: owner earnings growing ~5%/yr over 5 years. The zero-growth estimate assumes owner earnings stay flat (0% growth).

How to read this

We solve for the constant annual change in owner earnings that would make the five-year zero-growth estimate equal today’s price. This keeps the existing model inputs and calculation unchanged; it is an expectations lens, not a forecast.

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. The recent FY revenue series does not trigger the three-consecutive-declines flag.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 240% above the zero-growth estimate across 49 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Oct 15, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, IBEX, META, MEDP, MSFT, GOOG, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, CPRT, VEEV, RMD, GRMN, PCTY, EAT, UI, SSD, MNST, DOCS, LRCX, MCO, NTAP, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, ROL, CTAS, PAYC, IRMD, DECK, MORN, INTU, JKHY, TPR, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, LOPE

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 4% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

20 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Steel Dynamics, Inc. booked $18.2B of revenue in FY2025 in the Industrials sector and kept 13.2% of it as gross profit — a thin-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 6.5% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $4.4B (FY2007) to $18.2B (FY2025) — about 8.2% a year compounded over 18 years.

It earned 9.5% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2025. Across the full 19-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was 11.3%. Over the v3 recent window (10 measurable filed years), median ROIC was 16.8%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 76/100.

The balance sheet carried $4.2B of total debt in FY2025 against $1.2B of owner earnings — roughly 3.6 years of owner earnings to retire it all. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 77/100.

Put together: Capital Allocation is the strongest of the five filters (97/100) and Pricing Power the weakest (5/100), which is how STLD lands at 56/100 — a Shallow moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

Sales, as filed$18.2B FY2025

Revenue kept after cost of goods13.2% FY2025

Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICStandard ROIC 9.8% FY2025

Exact FY and FY-1 financing invested-capital inputs are required.

Cash an owner could take out$1.2B FY2025

The explained ROIC gaps have filed inputs but no meaningful positive invested-capital denominator. Other gaps mean the item is not in the filings for that year. The series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Flagship explainer

How Steel Dynamics, Inc. makes its money

Start with a dollar of revenue and follow what the filing says remains.

Honest partial: the filing did not provide a normalized tag for Research and development, Selling, general and administrative; those components are omitted, not plugged.

Table alternative
Filed line	Value	% of revenue	Source
	$18.2B	100%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Cost of revenue	$15.8B	87%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
	$2.4B	13%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
	$1.5B	8%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Income before tax	$1.5B	8%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Income tax	$306M	2%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
	$1.2B	7%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

Source:

10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set

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Flagship explainer

What Steel Dynamics, Inc. owns — and owes

Steel Dynamics, Inc.'s filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed line	Value	% of assets	Source
Total assets	$16.4B	100%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Cash and equivalents	$770M	5%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
	$4.2B	26%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Stockholders’ equity	$9.0B	55%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

Source:

10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont source inputs
Input	Value	Fiscal year	Source
	$1.2B	FY2025	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Income before tax	$1.5B	FY2025	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Operating income	$1.5B	FY2025	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
	$18.2B	FY2025	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Ending assets	$16.4B	FY2025	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Beginning assets	$14.9B	FY2024	10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
	$9.0B	FY2025	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
	$8.9B	FY2024	10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

Source:

10-K · filed Feb 27, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set

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Flagship explainer

Where Steel Dynamics, Inc.'s cash went

Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed line	Value	% of cash from operations	Source
Cash from operations	$1.4B	100%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026
Depreciation and amortization	$551M	38%	10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

Source:

10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-021395 · filed Feb 27, 2026

· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding Steel Dynamics, Inc.

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q2—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

0 holding0 exited0 not holding0/19 resolved19 not retrieved

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
Manager	Reported position	Quarter-over-quarter	Filing accession
Abrams Capital	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Akre Capital	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Baupost Group	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Berkshire Hathaway	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Brave Warrior Advisors	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Dodge & Cox	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
First Eagle	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Fundsmith	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Gardner Russo & Quinn	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Gates Foundation Trust	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Mairs & Power	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Markel / Markel-Gayner	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Oakmark / Harris Associates	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Pershing Square	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Polen Capital	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Sequoia / Ruane Cunniff	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Southeastern Asset Management	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Tweedy, Browne	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved
Yacktman Asset Management	Not retrieved	Comparison not retrieved	Filing not retrieved

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source: Filing source not retrieved · event Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026

Flagship explainer

What Steel Dynamics, Inc. insiders reported

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Oct 15, 2026.

Partial coverage: the incomplete Form 4 walk cannot establish no activity, an activity date, or zero counts.

Moat Score history

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale55.8 / 100

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

Tier changesSame-methodology and same-normalizer crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)tomoat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0tomoat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0tomoat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record cannot be reconstructed retroactively, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

This machine-readable surface covers SEC ownership filings from 2003; it does not represent earlier paper-era records.

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Oct 15, 2026.

7 filings were skipped because the SEC primary document returned 404; the omission is disclosed and aggregates are withheld.

Among the rows shown, A/F/M acquisition, payment or withholding, and exercise or conversion rows outnumber S sale rows (7 versus 0). The filing codes alone do not establish that every such row arose from a compensation plan.

Trailing-12-month totals and the 90-day cluster result are withheld because this issuer walk is incomplete.

Insider					Shares owned after	Date	Filing detail
Sierra Luis ManuelDirector	Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock	7	—Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)	—	11,530	Oct 9, 2026	1 filed lot Table I · Common Stock: 7 shares at — (Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)) · code A · owned after 11,530 · FORM 4 · filed Oct 9, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001022671-26-000157 · filed Oct 9, 2026
Seaman Bradley SDirector	Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock	105	—Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)	—	51,705	Oct 9, 2026	1 filed lot Table I · Common Stock: 105 shares at — (Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)) · code A · owned after 51,705 · FORM 4 · filed Oct 9, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001022671-26-000156 · filed Oct 9, 2026
Hamann Jennifer LDirector	Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock	18	—Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)	—	5,394	Oct 9, 2026	1 filed lot Table I · Common Stock: 18 shares at — (Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)) · code A · owned after 5,394 · FORM 4 · filed Oct 9, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001022671-26-000155 · filed Oct 9, 2026
DOLAN TRACI MDirector	Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock	97	—Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)	—	59,067	Oct 9, 2026	1 filed lot Table I · Common Stock: 97 shares at — (Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)) · code A · owned after 59,067 · FORM 4 · filed Oct 9, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001022671-26-000154 · filed Oct 9, 2026
Cornew Kenneth W.Director	Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock	2	—Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)	—	32,015	Oct 9, 2026	1 filed lot Table I · Common Stock: 2 shares at — (Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)) · code A · owned after 32,015 · FORM 4 · filed Oct 9, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001022671-26-000153 · filed Oct 9, 2026
BARGABOS SHEREE LDirector	Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock	40	—Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)	—	27,145	Oct 9, 2026	1 filed lot Table I · Common Stock: 40 shares at — (Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)) · code A · owned after 27,145 · FORM 4 · filed Oct 9, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001022671-26-000152 · filed Oct 9, 2026
Hamann Jennifer LDirector	Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock	72	—Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)	—	5,376	Aug 13, 2026	1 filed lot Table I · Common Stock: 72 shares at — (Grant, award, or other acquisition (A)) · code A · owned after 5,376 · FORM 4 · filed Aug 14, 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001022671-26-000145 · filed Aug 14, 2026

Source-event as of Oct 9, 2026. Retrieved Oct 15, 2026.

Track record

How Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

Point-in-time Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored STLD on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the reconstructed history shown, STLD did not rate Wide-moat in any year, so there is no wide-moat track record to report. That absence is itself the honest answer — we don’t manufacture a comparison where the rating never earned one.

Industrials context

#131 of 448 scored Industrials companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

#129BCO BRINK’S CO56.1 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
#130KEX KIRBY CORPORATION55.9 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
#132SKAS SAKER AVIATION SERVICES, INC.55.5 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
#133LMB LIMBACH HOLDINGS, INC.55.5 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat

Compare STLD with its nearest peers →All Industrials companies on the Index →

Common questions about STLD

Does Steel Dynamics, Inc. have an economic moat?: Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) 55.8 out of 100 — a Shallow moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 24, pricing power 5, returns on capital 76, balance-sheet safety 77, capital allocation 97.
Is STLD trading below the conservative owner-earnings estimate?: The value if growth stopped today — a zero-growth baseline — is $187.88 per share. It capitalizes normalized owner earnings at a 9% rate and assumes 0% growth. Versus a recent price of $242.92, that is 29% above value if growth stopped today. The model also publishes a capped-growth comparison, but the zero-growth estimate is the cautious baseline. It assumes trailing owner earnings persist and is unreliable for declining businesses. This is an educational estimate from primary SEC filings, not intrinsic value as a fact or investment advice.
How has STLD's Moat Score changed over time?: The record logs 28 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 55.8 out of 100 (shallow moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell STLD. See the disclaimer.