Reliance Reports Q2 Record Tons Sold on Back of Border Wall
Reliance reported a second-quarter increase in tons sold of 7% sequentially, after markets closed Wednesday. The company said that exceeded management’s expectation of a 1.0% to 3.0% increase and it included a 5.1% contribution from the US border wall project. Reliance’s second quarter year-over-year growth in tons sold of 10.8% outperformed the industry-wide increase of 5.5% reported by the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) by over 5 percentage points, the company added.
Net sales for Q2 were $4.63 billion, up 15% sequentially. Reliance posted pretax income of $429.8 million, up 41% year over-year, boosted by elevated pricing levels.
“Reliance delivered another excellent quarter, building on the positive momentum of the first quarter,” said Karla Lewis, president and CEO. “Market conditions remained constructive, supported by improving customer activity, extended mill lead times, and strong pricing across our broad product portfolio,” she added.
Lewis noted: “We achieved the second highest quarterly revenue in our history, as well as record quarterly tons sold, and continued to outperform industry shipment trends. In April, we began to see initial contributions from the US Department of Homeland Security border wall contract we were awarded earlier this year with activity levels well above our expectations delivering a meaningful contribution to our second quarter earnings.”
She said: “As customer optimism builds and activity strengthens across infrastructure, semiconductor, general manufacturing and aerospace, Reliance remains exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on the many meaningful opportunities that will continue to emerge throughout the second half of 2026 and into next year.”
Specifically, Reliance’s average selling price per ton sold increased 7.8% sequentially, also surpassing management’s expectation of a 1.5% to 3.5% increase, supported by higher carbon steel and aluminum pricing. The US border wall project impacted its product mix, offsetting the sequential growth in average selling price per ton sold by 1.6% due to higher than anticipated shipment levels during the quarter.
As for its end markets, non-residential construction demand (including infrastructure), is Reliance’s largest one by tons, and it improved compared to the second quarter of 2025. The company expects non-residential construction demand to continue to improve, with potential headwinds from supply availability in the third quarter of 2026, supported by strong activity across data centers, energy infrastructure, and public infrastructure projects.
Demand across the broader manufacturing end market Reliance serves also improved compared to the second quarter of 2025, supported by continued strength in industrial machinery, shipbuilding, military, consumer products and construction machinery sectors. The company anticipates demand for its products across the broader manufacturing sector will remain healthy in the third quarter of 2026 and experience its customary seasonal decline from the second quarter.
Demand from aerospace improved compared to the second quarter of 2025. Reliance anticipates commercial aerospace demand to modestly improve in the third quarter of 2026 with gradual build-rate increases and growing backlogs supporting continued improvement throughout the year. Demand in the defense- and space-related portions of Reliance’s aerospace business is expected to remain robust in the third quarter of 2026.
Demand for the toll processing services Reliance provides to the automotive market improved from the second quarter of 2025. Reliance expects demand for automotive toll processing to remain relatively steady at healthy levels in the third quarter of 2026.
Demand for certain products Reliance sells into the semiconductor market meaningfully improved compared to the second quarter of 2025 supported by increasing data center activity. The company anticipates demand for its semiconductor products will continue to improve in the third quarter of 2026.