Welcome to the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Nucor Corporation. I'd like to introduce Chris Jacobi, Director of Investor Relations.
Thank you, and good morning, everyone. We are pleased you are joining us for Nucor's 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Today's meeting may include forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Actual results may be different than forward-looking statements and involve risks outlined in the safe harbor statement and disclosed in Nucor's SEC filings. If you have not already done so, you may vote your shares online during this meeting prior to the closing of the polls by following the instructions on your screen. While the meeting is virtual, we wanna hear from our stockholders, and we invite you to submit questions electronically during any portion of the meeting. We look forward to hearing from you, and we'll address your questions during the Q&A session. With that, let's turn the meeting over to Leon J. Topalian, Nucor's Chair and Chief Executive Officer, to call the meeting to order.
Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to welcome Nucor's stockholders as well as Nucor teammates and guests who are here in the room with us or listening remotely. We appreciate your attendance, your interest, and most importantly, your support of Nucor. As the Chair of the Board of Directors, I now call the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Nucor Corporation to order. Rae Eagle, Nucor's Vice President and Corporate Secretary, will act as Secretary of this meeting. Joining me today are members of Nucor's leadership team, who I'm pleased to introduce. Stephen D. Laxton, our President and Chief Operating Officer; Jack Sullivan, our Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Executive Vice President; Benjamin M. Pickett, Executive Vice President, responsible for business services, sustainability, and legal; and Douglas R. Wilner, our General Counsel, as well as the rest of the executive team who are also listening in.
We also have with us today the following current directors and nominees for election as directors. Christopher J. Kearney, our Lead Director, Norma B. Clayton, Patrick J. Dempsey, Nicholas C. Gangestad, Laurette T. Koellner, Michael W. Lamach, and Nadja Y. West. Several of Nucor advisors are also joining us. From the law firm of , Wyrick Robbins Yates & Pontonwe have Todd H. Eveson and Holly Bacani. From the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we have Bobby Bono. On to some business. The secretary will please report the stockholders present or represented by proxy.
Of the 227,735,644 shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at this meeting, there are present or represented by proxy more than 202 million shares.
Since the holders of a majority of the shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at this meeting are present or represented by proxy, a quorum is present for the transaction of all items of business. I will ask the secretary to file the proxies with Nucor's records. A. Rae Eagle, will you please report on the notice of meeting sent to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 16th, 2026? These are the holders entitled to vote at this meeting.
I present this meeting my affidavit showing the mailing commencing on March 27th, 2026, to each stockholder of record as of the close of business on March 16th, 2026, the following: The notice of the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and related proxy materials or the notice of internet availability of proxy materials. Our counsel has advised us that the mailing was made in accordance with all applicable requirements of law, including the regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the rules of the New York Stock Exchange.
Thank you, Rae. Please annex your affidavit to the minutes of this meeting. Victor W. Latessa with Broadridge Financial Solutions has been appointed Inspector of Elections as required by Delaware law. He has submitted his oath of office, and I ask that his oath be attached to the minutes of this meeting. The next order of business is to consider the three proposals for this meeting as set forth in the notice of annual meeting and proxy statements. Proposal 1 is for the election of eight directors. The terms of Norma Clayton, Patrick J. Dempsey, Nicholas C. Gangestad, Chris Kearney, Laurette T. Koellner, Michael W. Lamach, Nadja Y. West, and myself will expire at this meeting.
The board's governance and nominating committee has recommended, and the board of directors has nominated these eight nominees for reelection for one-year terms ending at Nucor's Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2027. There are no other nominees.
Nucor's board of directors unanimously recommends a vote for each of the eight nominees. Proposal 2 is the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers to serve as Nucor's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026. The audit committee of the board of directors has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to serve as Nucor's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026. Nucor's board of directors unanimously recommends a vote for this proposal. Proposal 3 is an advisory vote to approve Nucor's named executive officer compensation in 2025. Nucor's board of directors unanimously recommends a vote for this proposal. If you are a stockholder entitled to vote and have not yet voted, or if you want to change your previously cast vote, please do so via the website used to access this meeting. Please remember that if you have already voted by proxy, it is not necessary to vote again.
The polls are about to close, so if you've not yet voted, please do so at this time. I declare the polls closed and ask that the Inspector of Elections to announce the preliminary results of the vote.
I submit a certificate of the Inspector of Elections certifying to the vote. Proposal 1, all eight director nominees have been reelected as directors of the company. Proposal 2, the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers to serve as Nucor's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026 has been ratified by the stockholders. Proposal 3, Nucor's named executive officer compensation in 2025 has been approved on an advisory basis by the stockholders.
Thank you, Victor. If there's no further business to come before this meeting, a motion to adjourn is in order.
Moved.
I second the motion.
A motion has been made and seconded. Without objection, I declare that this meeting is adjourned. We'd like now to hear from you. You may submit your questions by following the instructions on your screen. Chris, have we received any questions?
We received a question on dividends. This stockholder asks that with our large growth projects nearly complete, can we expect larger annual increases going forward?
You know, I'll begin with saying how proud I am of our track record. You know, we began paying a regular and increasing our regular quarterly dividend since 1973. As part of our capital allocation framework, we look to return at least 40% of our net earnings back to our shareholders, either through dividends or share repurchases. As we move forward and continue to grow, Nucor will evaluate, you know, those potential increases. Again, as we think about Nucor and the cyclical nature of our business, we will always balance our long-term growth, maximizing returns to shareholders, and also continue to think about how we continue to invest and grow this company.
That concludes the Q&A portion of the meeting. If there are any additional questions, please contact our investor relations team. At this time, I'll hand it back to Leon for closing remarks.
Thanks, Chris. I'd like to close by thanking our teammates for your continued focus in delivering on our most important value, the health, safety, and well-being of the entire Nucor family. To our customers, thank you for the trust that you place in our Nucor team with each and every order. Finally, I'd like to thank our stockholders for attending today. We take very seriously the trust you place in our team, and we will continue to be great stewards with your valuable shareholder capital. Thank you and have a great day.
Thank you. This concludes this teleconference. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.