Gerdau S.A

What it is

Gerdau melts mostly scrap metal in electric furnaces and turns it into steel bars, beams and rods — the bones of buildings, bridges and cars. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and on Brazil’s B3 exchange, with the Gerdau family still in indirect control through their majority stake in holding company Metalúrgica Gerdau S.A.

It is the biggest producer of long steel in the Americas. The business splits roughly between Brazil and North America, the latter now its profit engine.

Who owns it

The company began in 1901 as the Pontas de Paris nail factory, controlled by the Gerdau family of Porto Alegre, who remain the indirect controlling shareholder; in 1969 it was renamed Metalúrgica Gerdau S.A., the holding company that is the parent of Gerdau S.A.

The structure is a classic two-tier Brazilian arrangement. The interests of the controlling shareholder may conflict with those of the non-controlling shareholders — the standard risk when one family steers a public company.

Roughly 12% of the stock sits with big institutions such as pension and index funds. The rest trades freely in São Paulo and New York, but the family’s common (voting) shares keep final say.

Who runs it

André Bier Gerdau Johannpeter is Chairman of the Board, with Guilherme Chagas Gerdau Johannpeter and Cláudio Johannpeter as vice-chairmen — three family names at the top table. Day-to-day, Gustavo Werneck da Cunha is chief executive.

Rafael Dorneles Japur serves as Vice-President and Investor Relations Officer — effectively the finance chief who speaks for the numbers.

The money, in plain words

Sales held steady at around R$69.9bn (US$13.6bn) in 2025, but profit fell hard. North American operations contributed 61% of group earnings before interest, tax and write-offs in mid-2025 — the U.S. now carries the group while Brazil’s home market is soft.

Profitability is thin right now. Gerdau keeps about 2 cents of profit from every real of sales — a net margin of 2.0% (our calculation), down sharply from past years.

For every real owners put in, the company earned about 3 back over the year — a return on equity of 3.1%, weak for this business and a sign 2025 was a trough.

The balance sheet is the comfort. Cash of R$5.9bn (US$1.2bn) against total debt of R$15.6bn (US$3.0bn) leaves modest net debt of about R$9.6bn (US$1.9bn, our calculation) — easily carried.

What it is doing now

In 2025 the company returned R$2.4 billion (US$466 mn) to shareholders through dividends and buybacks — a payout of 182%, meaning it handed back nearly twice its yearly profit. That is generous, and only sustainable because of the strong cash position.

On 23 February 2026 the board approved a fresh buyback of up to 55 million preferred and 1.4 million common shares, about 2.9% of the stock, over 18 months. The 2026 first quarter then showed sequential improvement across all operations, with adjusted earnings of R$3.0 billion (US$583 mn).

What to watch

• North America. The U.S. operations delivered a solid quarter on local strength and a more favorable pricing environment — the single biggest driver of the group’s recovery.
• Brazil’s recovery. A return to growth at home would lift the depressed margin and return on equity from their 2025 lows.
• Capital returns. Whether the family keeps the buybacks and the 3.6% dividend yield flowing as profit rebuilds.

This is news, not investment advice.