Markets

AK Steel plummets after earnings disappoint

Key Points
  • AK Steel shares plunged after the company missed expectations on the top and bottom lines.
  • President Trump's tariffs on foreign steel imports should have benefited domestic steelmakers like AK Steel.
Mounds of coking coal sit piled near the blast furnace at the AK Steel mill in Middletown, Ohio.
Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

AK Steel shares plunged as much as 15 percent after-hours Thursday following third-quarter earnings that missed expectations.

The company reported earnings of 21 cents per share on $1.74 billion in revenue. Those results fell short of analyst expectations for earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $1.81 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates.

AK Steel misses earnings expectations
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AK Steel misses earnings expectations

The steelmaker posted disappointing results despite Trump administration tariffs that were supposed to help companies like AK Steel.

In June, President Donald Trump levied 25 percent tariffs on steel imported from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

As of their Thursday close of $4.22, shares of AK Steel are down 25 percent so far in 2018. With its after-hours losses, the stock is currently trading below its 52-week intraday low of $4.

CEO Roger Newport said, however, that the results marked the company's "best third quarter performance in 10 years." In the year-ago quarter, AK Steel reported earnings of 7 cents a share on $1.49 billion in revenue.