New York, Feb 12, 2026, 07:11 EST — Premarket
- Gerdau’s U.S.-listed shares up about 2% before the bell after a high-volume jump on Wednesday
- Fresh U.S. jobs data and big historical revisions reset the rates debate
- Investors look next to Friday’s U.S. CPI and Gerdau’s Feb. 23 results date
Gerdau’s U.S.-listed shares rose about 2% in premarket trade on Thursday, holding onto the prior session’s gains as investors digested a surprise U.S. jobs report and revisions that scrambled expectations for interest-rate cuts.
The move matters because steel demand tends to track construction and industrial activity, and rate expectations can swing those outlooks quickly. Wednesday’s U.S. data did both: it was strong in spots, but it also came with a rewrite of recent history.
Gerdau, one of the Americas’ biggest long-steel producers, has mills and operations across Brazil and North America, leaving it exposed to shifts in U.S. growth and financing conditions. (Reuters)
In Wednesday’s regular session, Gerdau closed at $4.35, up 2.6%, with trading volume around 63 million shares — roughly three times its recent average — as peers Nucor and Steel Dynamics also rose. (Nasdaq)
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said total nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 in January and the unemployment rate was 4.3%, with job gains in health care, social assistance and construction. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Separate benchmark revisions showed the U.S. economy created 862,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March 2025 than previously estimated, while the total change in 2025 employment was revised down sharply. (Reuters)
“Job growth should firm up this year if we are correct in expecting a faster pace of real GDP growth,” Regions Financial chief economist Richard F. Moody wrote in a note on the report.
For steelmakers, the cross-current is familiar: cooler rate expectations can help housing and construction later on, but weaker growth prints — or big downward revisions — can hint at demand trouble that shows up first in industrial orders.
Gerdau investors also have company-specific dates on deck. The company’s 2026 corporate calendar shows its full-year 2025 financial statements are due on Feb. 23, with first-quarter 2026 reporting slated for late April.
Still, the rally is not locked in. If inflation data runs hot, rate-cut hopes could fade again, and the same leverage that lifts cyclical stocks can push them down fast when growth fears take over.
Next up is Friday’s U.S. Consumer Price Index for January — another potential swing factor for rate expectations — followed closely by Gerdau’s Feb. 23 reporting date. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
