Nucor Corp (NUE)

Return on total capital

		Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)	US$ in thousands	6,130,720	9,991,450	9,069,070	887,593	1,840,400
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	—	—	—	—	—
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	20,940,600	18,414,700	14,016,400	10,788,700	10,357,900
Return on total capital		29.28%	54.26%	64.70%	8.23%	17.77%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $6,130,720K ÷ ($—K + $20,940,600K)
= 29.28%

Nucor Corp.'s return on total capital has shown fluctuations over the past five years. In 2023, the return on total capital was 22.47%, representing a decrease from the previous year's figure of 41.89% in 2022. However, it is still a strong performance compared to the returns in 2020 and 2019, which were 9.93% and 13.37% respectively. The highest return on total capital was recorded in 2021 at 47.82%, indicating a robust utilization of the company's capital resources that year. Overall, Nucor Corp. has demonstrated the ability to generate meaningful returns on its total capital investment, albeit with some variability in performance over the years.