Commercial Metals is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Irving, Texas, and a leading provider of early-stage construction solutions that support the foundational phases of modern infrastructure and building projects, and the question for the next twelve months is whether the company can convert the 22.9% Q3 FY2026 net sales growth, the 78.6% consolidated Core EBITDA growth to $353.6 million, the 440 basis points Core EBITDA margin expansion to 14.2%, the meaningful progress on the deleveraging with clear visibility to 2x net leverage well ahead of the mid-2027 stated goal, the FY29 Core EBITDA target of $1.65 to $1.8 billion, the FY29 Core EBITDA Margin target of 15.0% to 16.0%, the FY29 ROIC target of 13.0% to 14.5%, the FY29 Free Cash Flow target of $1.375 to $1.525 billion, and the $600 million incremental share repurchase authorization into the kind of early-stage construction solutions operating leverage the company has been telegraphing. The Q3 FY2026 print was the cleanest test of that thesis, and the cleanest signal is that President and CEO Peter Matt said "during our fiscal third quarter, we continued to make great progress on our strategic agenda across a number of fronts. We substantially grew Core EBITDA, and made meaningful progress deleveraging our balance sheet. Our early-stage construction portfolio is benefiting from solid demand, along with strong booking and backlogs at attractive prices." The strategic tension is the 1.7% decline in finished goods shipment volumes for the North America Steel Group against the 22.9% net sales growth, and the forward question is whether the TAG initiative can compound the Core EBITDA margin expansion and the deleveraging into the FY29 financial targets the company has been telegraphing.
The 78.6% Core EBITDA growth and the 440 basis points Core EBITDA margin expansion are the cleanest read on the operating momentum, and the TAG initiative is the proof. The Q3 FY2026 consolidated Core EBITDA of $353.6 million grew 78.6% year over year, and the Q3 FY2026 consolidated Core EBITDA margin of 14.2% expanded 440 basis points year over year. The Q3 FY2026 net sales of $2,483,245 thousand grew 22.9% year over year, the Q3 FY2026 net earnings of $173,015 thousand grew 108.1% year over year, and the Q3 FY2026 adjusted earnings of $193,025 thousand grew 142.4% year over year.
The Q3 FY2026 North America Steel Group adjusted EBITDA of $253.5 million grew 41% year over year, the Q3 FY2026 metal margins increased $111 per ton, the Q3 FY2026 average selling price for steel products increased $130 per ton, the Q3 FY2026 scrap costs were up only $19 per ton, the Q3 FY2026 adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.2% up from 11.5% in the prior year period, the Q3 FY2026 finished goods shipment volumes for the North America Steel Group decreased 1.7% versus the prior year, the Q3 FY2026 third quarter booking pricing increased 15.5% versus the prior year period, the Q3 FY2026 downstream backlog volumes remained elevated above historical averages, the Q3 FY2026 Construction Solutions Group and Europe Steel Group improvement, the Q3 FY2026 $52.9 million contribution from the recent precast acquisitions, the FY29 Core EBITDA target of $1.65 to $1.8 billion, the FY29 Core EBITDA Margin target of 15.0% to 16.0%, the FY29 ROIC target of 13.0% to 14.5%, the FY29 Free Cash Flow target of $1.375 to $1.525 billion, the $600 million incremental share repurchase authorization bringing the total available repurchase authorization to approximately $717 million, the deleveraging clear visibility to 2x net leverage well ahead of the mid-2027 stated goal, the public infrastructure spending, the mega-projects investments across data centers, semiconductors, and ongoing energy-related build outs, and the 2026 Investor Day in New York City anchor the print. The forward question is whether the TAG initiative can compound the Core EBITDA margin expansion and the deleveraging into the FY29 financial targets.