By Kwanwoo Jun

Posco Holdings is scheduled to report its second-quarter results on Thursday. Here is what you need to know:

NET PROFIT: The South Korean steelmaker is forecast to post net profit of 349.80 billion won, equivalent to $251.7 million, for the April-June period, according to a consensus forecast of 10 analysts in a FactSet poll. That would be a 34% decline from a year earlier.

REVENUE: Revenue is expected at 18.085 trillion won for the quarter, with operating profit tipped at 651.11 billion won, according to FactSet.

The stock was recently 2.0% lower, paring its year-to-date gain to about 25%.

WHAT TO WATCH:

--STEEL: Investors will watch for whether higher U.S. tariffs put a bigger dent in Posco's steel production and sales. President Trump in early June raised duties on foreign steel and aluminum imports to 50%, doubling the rate he imposed in March. Steel demand and prices have largely cooled since then.

--BATTERY: Earlier this month, Posco's battery-material supplier and affiliate, Posco Future M, posted a wider net loss for the second quarter on sluggish demand, lower lithium prices and a higher operating cost for newly built factories. How heavily Posco's energy-material business weighed on its overall earnings will also be watched closely.

--OUTLOOK: Posco's business outlook will be of interest, as some analysts forecast an earnings improvement later this year on a possible recovery in demand. South Korea's antidumping duties against Chinese steel and higher domestic steel-product prices could help Posco improve its profitability, according to analysts from Nomura and Eugene Investment & Securities.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 29, 2025 02:32 ET (06:32 GMT)

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