Is STLD a high-quality business?

AlphaMadera's AlphaQuality grade scores Steel Dynamics, Inc. on six pillars — profitability, capital efficiency, balance-sheet strength, growth durability, cash generation, and shareholder yield. The composite letter grade reflects how STLD compares to a Buffett-style quality bar.

What is Steel Dynamics, Inc.'s AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to STLD based on a six-pillar quantitative model. The live page shows the composite grade plus each pillar's individual score with the underlying metrics.

What makes STLD a quality stock?

AlphaQuality looks at return on capital, free-cash-flow margins, debt-to-equity, revenue stability, dividend and buyback policy, and operating-margin trend. Stocks scoring well across all six pillars earn higher grades — the methodology favors compounders over cyclicals.

STLD - Steel Dynamics, Inc.

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Buy DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $209.40 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Other Commodity Producers

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

B- 65.1 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for other commodity producers businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 15%

B- 63.8

5yr Avg ROIC 19.7% 91/100
Operating Margin Trend -4.23 pp/yr 0/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 10%

A+ 100.0

5yr Avg ROE 27.4% 100/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR -7.9% 100/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 5%

F 20.7

5yr Revenue CAGR -0.3% 19/100
5yr EPS CAGR -15.3% 0/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 3/5 60/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 25%

C 52.6

5yr FCF Margin 7.0% 58/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion 0.49x 46/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 25%

A 89.0

Net Debt / EBITDA 1.63x 76/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) 22.32x 100/100
Altman Z-Score 5.82 100/100

Stability

Weight: 20%

C- 45.6

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.78 9/100
Piotroski F-Score 8 89/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 2/5 60/100

2 of 3 gurus held; 1 new buy; 1 added; 2 full exits.

Holders: 2 -1
Avg Δ position: +21.0%
New buys: 1
Full exits: 2

Cooperman sold -100%
Dalio new
Wood sold -100%

How this is calculated

AlphaQuality grades six pillars from 0-100 and weights each by archetype:

Profitability (15%) — 5yr Avg ROIC, Operating Margin Trend
Capital Efficiency (10%) — 5yr Avg ROE, 5yr Share-Count CAGR
Growth Quality (5%) — 5yr Revenue CAGR, 5yr EPS CAGR, Revenue-Growth Years (5)
Cash Generation (25%) — 5yr FCF Margin, 5yr FCF/NI Conversion
Balance Sheet (25%) — Net Debt / EBITDA, Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int), Altman Z-Score
Stability (20%) — EPS Volatility (σ/μ), Piotroski F-Score, Negative-Revenue Years (5)

We deliberately ignore stock price, analyst targets, and consensus ratings so the grade is suitable for backtesting forward returns. A minimum of 5 fiscal years of audited statements is required; distressed and highly leveraged infrastructure businesses are declared ungradable rather than forced into a numeric score.