One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$34.41 our estimate vs market $25.28
Wall Street consensus: $29.00 (-15.7% lower than our fair-value estimate)
27% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Ryerson Holding Corporation
RYZ · NYQ · Industrials · Metal Fabrication
Current price
$25.28
52-week range
$19.34 - $32.00
Market cap
$1.31B
Balance sheet
Distressed
-0.70x Concerning
Net debt $1.31B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
3 Risks
3 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 27.7% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 8/10 years.
- Risk Net debt grew 38.8% over 3 years.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 6.4% (peer median: 21.3%).
What this company does
Ryerson Holding Corporation
Ryerson is a metal distributor that buys large quantities of industrial metals like steel and aluminum, then cuts and shapes them for other companies. It makes money by selling these processed metals for more than it paid, acting as a critical part of the supply chain (the network of companies involved in creating and distributing a product) for manufacturers of trucks, machinery, and other heavy equipment. Because its customers are in these core industries, Ryerson's business often reflects the overall health of the manufacturing economy.
How the company got here
Ryerson started as a small iron shop in Chicago in 1842, founded by Joseph T. Ryerson. As American industry grew, so did the company, supplying steel for everything from railroads to early Ford cars. Over its long history, it has gone through many changes, including being bought by other companies and then becoming publicly traded on the stock market again in 2014. A key part of its story is growing by acquiring other companies, with the most significant recent event being its merger with Olympic Steel in 2026, making it one of the largest metals processors in North America.
What it actually does
Think of Ryerson as a go-between for giant metal producers and the thousands of businesses that use metal. The company buys huge quantities of industrial metals like steel and aluminum directly from the mills that make them. Then, in its network of warehouses, it cuts, shapes, and processes these metals to the exact specifications its customers need for their own products, like machinery, transportation equipment, and consumer goods. Essentially, customers aren't just buying metal; they're buying metal that's ready to use, delivered when they need it, which simplifies their own manufacturing process.
Metals Service Centers
The company operates as one main business, which it calls its Metals Service Centers. Instead of having distinct divisions, its revenue comes from selling and processing different types of industrial metals. These centers act as a one-stop shop for manufacturers who need various metals but don't want to buy massive quantities directly from a mill. Ryerson's main product categories are different types of steel and aluminum, which are sold to a wide range of industries from transportation to construction.
Carbon & Alloy Steel
This is the largest part of Ryerson's business, representing a significant portion of its sales. Carbon steel is a basic, strong, and affordable metal used in countless applications, from building frames and bridges to car bodies and machinery. Alloy steels are carbon steel mixed with other elements to give them special properties like extra strength or resistance to wear. Customers, such as construction firms and heavy equipment manufacturers, pay Ryerson to get these steels cut and shaped for their specific jobs.
Stainless Steel & Aluminum
This category includes metals known for being resistant to rust and lighter in weight. Stainless steel is used in everything from kitchen appliances and medical equipment to industrial pipes, while aluminum is critical for industries like aerospace, automotive (for lighter vehicles), and beverage cans. These metals are generally more expensive than carbon steel. Customers in industries that need these special properties pay Ryerson for processed sheets, bars, and tubes of these metals.
What management is betting on now
Management's current focus is on being more than just a metal seller; they aim to be a crucial partner to their customers. They are investing in expanding their 'value-added' processing services, which are custom services like complex cutting and fabrication that make the metal parts closer to a finished product. This strategy helps create stronger customer relationships and better margins (the percentage of profit from a sale). A top priority is successfully integrating the recently acquired Olympic Steel business to achieve synergies (cost savings and efficiencies that come from combining two companies) and improve the company's overall performance.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$103.00M
FY2024 Q4
$68.70M
FY2025 Q1
$-49.20M
FY2025 Q2
$13.90M
FY2025 Q3
$-21.10M
FY2025 Q4
$91.90M
FY2026 Q1
$-191.40M
FY2026 Q2
$5.10M
Revenue
$2.01B
Net income
$15.50M
Diluted EPS
0.30
Operating cash flow
$21.40M
Free cash flow
$5.10M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.57B
Net income
$4.50M
Diluted EPS
0.10
Operating cash flow
$-179.20M
Free cash flow
$-191.40M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.10B
Net income
$-37.90M
Diluted EPS
-1.18
Operating cash flow
$112.70M
Free cash flow
$91.90M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.16B
Net income
$-14.80M
Diluted EPS
-0.46
Operating cash flow
$-8.30M
Free cash flow
$-21.10M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.17B
Net income
$1.90M
Diluted EPS
0.06
Operating cash flow
$23.80M
Free cash flow
$13.90M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.14B
Net income
$-5.60M
Diluted EPS
-0.18
Operating cash flow
$-41.20M
Free cash flow
$-49.20M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.01B
Net income
$-4.30M
Diluted EPS
-0.13
Operating cash flow
$92.20M
Free cash flow
$68.70M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.13B
Net income
$-6.60M
Diluted EPS
-0.20
Operating cash flow
$134.60M
Free cash flow
$103.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $34.41 vs current price $25.28
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $29.00 (-15.7% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $34.41 a share — about 36.1% above today's price of $25.28, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $1.3B. Interest coverage -0.7x.
Net debt
$1.31B
Interest coverage
-0.70x
Ryerson Holding Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 0.0 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here and 1 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
RYZ
BASELINE
Ryerson Holding Corporation
Total debt $1.35B Interest coverage -0.70x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $354.30M Interest coverage 3.73x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while RYZ does not.
Total debt $1.39B Interest coverage 0.67x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while RYZ does not.
Total debt $347.54M Interest coverage 9.53x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while RYZ does not.
Total debt $101.32M Interest coverage 6.25x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while RYZ does not.
What you should know
The case for and against RYZ
3 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 27.7% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 8/10 years.
-
Dividend yield is 3.0% with 6-year payout history.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 38.8% over 3 years.
-
Insider ownership is only 6.4% (peer median: 21.3%).
-
Operating margin compressed from 9.1% to 1.9% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
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Forward P/E
10.69x
P/B
1.02x
P/S
0.22x
EV/EBITDA
21.39x
PEG ratio
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Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
17.3%
Operating margin
1.9%
Net margin
-0.6%
ROE
-2.9%
ROA
0.5%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
1.04x
Current ratio
2.21x
Quick ratio
0.96x
Total debt
$1.35B
Total cash
$41.90M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$5.84B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-5.3%
EPS TTM
-1.22
EPS 5Y CAGR
—
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$-53.40M
Free CF TTM
$35.50M
FCF margin
0.6%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
3.0%
Payout ratio
118.7%
Last ex-div date
2026-09-03