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NOVEMBER 13, 2012

NUCOR DELIVERS PROFITABLE GROWTH

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NUCOR’S EARNINGS GROWTH HISTORY

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Decade 1970-1980 1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-2011

Pretax Earnings % Change 3,528% 248% 499% 698%

Pretax Earnings CAGR 43% 11% 20% 21%

Market Value Change 2,568% 320% 160% 361%

INDUSTRY LEADING RETURNS

7.1%8.8%

15.4%17.5%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

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18

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ArcelorMittal U.S. Steel Steel Dynamics Nucor

Return On Invested Capital: 2004-2011 Average Annual %

ArcelorMittalU.S. SteelSteel DynamicsNucor

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INDUSTRY LEADING RETURNS

0.7%

2.4%

7.0%

9.0%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

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U.S. Steel ArcelorMittal Steel Dynamics Nucor

Return On Invested Capital Last 12 Months thru 9-30-12

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NUCOR: THE “DEFENSIVE” AND HIGH RETURN STEEL INVESTMENT

4.3%

173.9%

463.9%

0%

100%

200%

300%

400%

500%

S&P 500 S&P Steel Group Index Nucor

Total Return 9/2000 to 12/2011

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CASH DIVIDENDS PAID 2000–2011 Base & Supplemental Dividends (millions of dollars)

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Base Supplemental7

Approx. $5 / share in total supplemental dividends from 2005 to 2008

NUCOR’S GROWTH DRIVEN BY OUR POSITION OF STRENGTH

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COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Financial Strength Low / Variable Cost Structure Flexible Capacity Product Diversification

Market Leadership Nucor’s People and Our Culture

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$0

$600

$1,200

$1,800

$2,400

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Financial Strength Cash From Operations 2000-2011 (millions of dollars)

More than 2X

Average ’01-’03 $495 million

Average ’09-’11 $1.0 Billion

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FLEXIBLE CAPACITY

Electric arc furnaces

High productivity

No lay-off practice

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BEST-IN-CLASS MARKET RESPONSIVENESS!!!

2011 Sales Tons

Sheet-Steel - 33%

Bars-Steel - 20%

Structural-Steel - 10%

Plate-Steel - 10%

Steel Products-11%

Scrap & Trading-16%

DIVERSIFIED PRODUCT MIX

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MARKET LEADERSHIP IN NORTH AMERICA Structural Steel

Bar Steel Rebar Steel Cold Finished Bar Steel Steel Joist Steel Deck Rebar Fabrication, Distribution, & Placement Steel Piling Distribution

Sheet Steel Plate Steel Metal Buildings

#1 North American Market Leader

#2 North American Market Leader

#3 North American Market Leader

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NUCOR’S PEOPLE – OUR BIGGEST COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

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GROWING EARNINGS POWER: MULTI-PRONGED GROWTH STRATEGY

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NUCOR’S FOCUS: PROFITABLE GROWTH!!!

NUCOR’S 5 PRONGED GROWTH STRATEGY

Nucor’s Position

of

STRENGTH

1. OPTIMIZE EXISTING OPERATIONS

2. RAW MATERIALS STRATEGY

3. GREENFIELD GROWTH (technology & market niches)

4. INTERNATIONAL GROWTH via joint ventures

5. STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS

GROWING NUCOR’S EARNINGS POWER

$2.9 Billion

$6.8 Billion

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

$8,000

Depreciation & Amortization Capital Invested

Capital Invested Versus Depreciation & Amort. 2008-2012

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Capital Spending of $3.2 billion & Acquisitions of $3.6 billion

Steel Mills - 45%

Raw Materials - 45%

Steel Products - 10%

2008-2012 Capital Invested By Product Segment

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – STEELMAKING

SBQ • Capacity growth at TN, NE, and SC mills (2014)

BAR • AZ wire rod mill (2010)

BEAM • AR sheet piling expansion – wider & stronger

sections (2014)

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – STEELMAKING

SHEET • AL galvanizing line (2009) • AR vacuum degasser (2012) • SC “wide – light” sheet steel (2013)

PLATE • AL temper line (2008) • NC heat treat facility (2011) • NC vacuum degasser (2012) • NC normalizing line (2013)

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – STEELMAKING SKYLINE STEEL ACQUISITION Steel piling distributor: NAFTA MARKET LEADER

20+ yr strategic growth partnership with Nucor-Yamato, MARKET LEADER in steel piling production

Enhanced and accelerated growth opportunities in both distribution & steelmaking

H-Pile Sheet Pile Pipe Pile

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – DOWNSTREAM

NuMit / Steel Tech JV sheet steel processing

Harris rebar fabrication acquisitions

Joist, deck, and metal buildings market leadership positions expanding

BIM 3-D modeling technology

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – RAW MATERIALS STRATEGY Gain control of 6 to 7 million tons annual supply of

high quality scrap substitutes

Nucor’s world-class Trinidad direct reduced iron (DRI) facility = 2 million tons annual capacity

Louisiana DRI first module start-up in mid-2013 = 2.5 million tons annual capacity

Permitted for 2nd DRI module in LA (would increase total DRI annual capacity to 7 million tons)

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – RAW MATERIALS STRATEGY Two long-term agreements (2010 & 2012) with

Encana for natural gas drilling programs Industry leader Encana will be operator On-shore drilling in continental United States –

areas with proved reserves Production of wells drilled under 2010 agreement exceeding projections by more than 60% Nucor has right to suspend drilling if natural gas prices drop below predetermined threshold

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – RAW MATERIALS STRATEGY Expected to provide more than 20 years natural gas

supply equal to usage at Nucor steel steel mills plus 2 DRI plants COST-BASED & PAY-AS-YOU-GO supply of natural

gas Natural gas = reductant cost advantage vs. coking coal used by blast furnaces Significant environmental advantages DRI’s CO2 emissions 67% less than blast furnace’s output

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BUILDING EARNINGS POWER – RAW MATERIALS STRATEGY DRI production capability + Long-term/low-cost natural gas supply = GAME-CHANGER for cost structure of Nucor’s steelmaking operations

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DRI VERSUS PIG IRON COST COMPARISON

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$/ton Blast Furnace DRI Iron Ore (62% FE, FOB Brazil) Pellet Premium Iron Premium (BF = 65% Fe & DRI = 68% Fe) Freight Iron Ore Consumption (BF = 1.6 ton & DRI = 1.5 ton)

$100 $30 $9 $25 $262

$100 $30 $18 $15 $245

Cash Conversion Costs BF Reductant (100% coke) DRI Reductant (11 mmbtus @ $4)

$70 $144

$35 $44

Iron Unit Cost BF with sinter plant cost savings BF Cost Savings By Substituting 40% of coke usage with PCI & natural gas BF Higher “Value-In-Use” Benefit “Adjusted” BF Iron Unit Cost

$476 $30 $26 $15 $406

$324

Coke cost assumes 0.5 ton of coke using 1.5 tons of metallurgical coal costing $175/ton

OUR BEST YEARS ARE STILL AHEAD OF US!!

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