Gerdau Wins Its Sector in a Year Profit Fell 69 Percent
BRAZIL · COMPANIES
Key Facts
- —The award Gerdau took the metallurgy and steel category of the 26th Valor 1000 for a fifth consecutive year, awarded 8 September 2026.
- —The wording The fifth-year count comes from Gerdau’s own release. Valor’s article does not state a consecutive count.
- —The revenue Net revenue of 69.9 billion reais in 2025, up 4.2 percent, ranking 17th overall.
- —The profit Net income of 1.418 billion reais, down 69.2 percent, at a net margin of 2.0 percent.
- —The pivot Chief executive Gustavo Werneck says investment goes where returns are best, and that today means the United States.
- —The word he used Werneck describes operating in Brazil as survival mode.
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Gerdau won its sector in a year its net profit fell by more than two thirds. The award is about North America, and its chief executive says so plainly.
Gerdau took the metallurgy and steel category of the 26th Valor 1000 yearbook, awarded on Tuesday 8 September 2026. Its own release describes it as a fifth consecutive win.
The Numbers Behind It
Valor’s own ranking places Gerdau 17th overall, down from 16th, on net revenue of 69.9 billion reais in 2025, up 4.2 percent.
On that same table, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 30.1 percent to 7.4 billion reais, and net income fell 69.2 percent to 1.418 billion, a net margin of 2.0 percent.
Gerdau’s own release cites adjusted earnings of 10.1 billion reais, net revenue of 69.9 billion and sales of 11.6 million tonnes. The revenue figures agree; the earnings gap is adjusted against unadjusted, and each should carry its source.
One point of care on the count. The fifth consecutive year comes from Gerdau. Valor’s article does not state one, though Gerdau’s own archive is consistent, describing 2025 as the fourth.
Where the Money Is Going
Chief executive Gustavo Werneck was direct about the geography. Investment goes where the prospects are better and the best returns can be had, he said, and today that is the United States.
He expects the company to announce new expansion investments there. The country is reindustrialising and steel demand is growing, he said.
He added that Gerdau never imagined its North American results could be so far ahead of its Brazilian ones.
On Brazil he was blunter. The company has stopped investing to grow there. There is no point expanding and being left with idle capacity.
He said Gerdau compares its production costs and performance indicators against the main international producers and comes out ahead, but that in Brazil it has to fight to keep living in the face of predatory competition. Valor attributes to him the phrase that the company operates in Brazil in survival mode.
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Why the Contrast Exists
Gerdau has been arguing for stronger trade protection for two years. Chinese imports have occupied close to a quarter of the Brazilian market.
Brazil applies tariff quotas on 19 steel product categories, with a 25 percent tariff above quota, renewed for June 2026 to 2027. In January it added a 25 percent import tax on nine codes of pre-painted steel from China and India.
Those measures are working at the margin. Steel product imports fell 17.6 percent in the first half of 2026 to 2.9 million tonnes, and the industry body cut its full-year import forecast to 6.3 million tonnes.
But domestic demand fell too. Apparent consumption dropped 5.3 percent and crude steel output 1.5 percent over the same period.
Gerdau cut its 2026 capital spending to 4.7 billion reais, 21.7 percent below the previous plan. Werneck said last October that without intensified protection the company would debate whether to maintain the volume of resources it applies in the country.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Gerdau win?
The metallurgy and steel category of the 26th Valor 1000 yearbook, awarded on 8 September 2026. Gerdau describes it as a fifth consecutive win.
How did the company perform in 2025?
Net revenue rose 4.2 percent to 69.9 billion reais, but on Valor’s table net income fell 69.2 percent to 1.418 billion, a margin of 2.0 percent.
Why the gap in the earnings figures?
Gerdau cites adjusted earnings of 10.1 billion reais; Valor’s ranking shows 7.4 billion unadjusted. Both are as published by their sources.
Where is Gerdau investing?
North America. The chief executive says investment goes where returns are best and expects new United States expansion, while describing Brazilian operations as survival mode.
Sources: Valor Econômico Valor 1000 26th edition and ranking dataset, Gerdau press release of 9 September 2026, Instituto Aco Brasil, CNN Brasil, Siderurgia Brasil.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief