Ryerson Holding Corporation published the transcript of its Fourth-Quarter 2025 earnings conference call (held Friday, February 20, 2026). The call was hosted by Justine Carlson and featured CEO Eddie Lehner, CFO Jim Claussen, and Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller Molly Kannan, with newly joined leaders also participating following the merger with Olympic Steel, including President and COO Rick Marabito, SVP of Finance Rich Manson, and EVP of Ryerson and President of the Olympic Steel Business Unit Andrew Greiff. Management focused on the company’s fourth-quarter loss, the impact of rising material costs and LIFO expense, early signs of improving demand in early 2026, and the integration of Olympic Steel. Lehner said the merger closed a week earlier and the company has launched an integration effort targeting $120 million in annual run-rate synergies over the next two years: “We have established an experienced Integration team focused on realizing the expected $120 million in annual run rate synergies.” He added that early-quarter activity has improved, saying, “we are seeing encouraging strength in customer quote and order activity” and called it “the best demand start to a year since 2022.” Claussen said fourth-quarter results were pressured because cost increases outpaced price realization, contributing to a net loss of $38 million, while outlining stronger first-quarter expectations. “We have been seeing very strong activity in the first quarter of 2026,” he said, guiding to tons shipped up 13% to 15% versus Q4 and net income of $10 million to $12 million (before merger-related fees). Kannan said Q4 LIFO expense rose to $22.5 million and gross margin fell to 15.3% as the company could not fully pass through rapid increases before quarter-end. The company also highlighted balance sheet and liquidity actions, including lowering leverage to 3.1x and expanding its revolving credit facility to $1.8 billion, while emphasizing near-term priorities of synergy delivery and deleveraging. On capital allocation, management reiterated commitment to the dividend while focusing on debt reduction, with Lehner stating, “it’s important to keep the main thing the main thing… getting after the $120 million… synergies and deleveraging.” The full transcript can be accessed through the link below.

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