NEW YORK, September 2 — Nucor’s stock is up more than 50% in 2026, and MarketBeat’s August 26 analysis argues the steelmaker is the cleanest way to play a tariff policy that is back at the center of market attention. The bottom line: tariffs create winners and losers, and the research firm says investors are better off riding the policy tailwind than fighting it. The renewed focus comes amid fresh concerns about inflation, supply chain disruptions and margin compression.
Many of the new tariffs were imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which the analysis says makes them more likely to survive judicial scrutiny — though their fate could shift under a new administration in 2029.
Steel’s home-field advantage
Nucor has been a major beneficiary of tariff policy aimed at making domestic steel more attractive. The company’s electric-arc-furnace model lets it compete almost entirely on American soil against tariff-burdened imports, with demand driven by both data center construction and traditional infrastructure needs. The stock also got a boost after U.S.-Canada trade discussions broke down, reversing earlier concerns about losing competitive advantage.
Nucor is a Dividend King, having increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years. The consensus price target is $272.38, implying a gain of about 10%, though many analysts have raised targets beyond that level.
Cleveland-Cliffs is the more leveraged play. The stock is down over 14% in 2026, with tepid revenue growth and ongoing unprofitability. But in August 2026 the company announced a $1 billion investment in its Middletown Works facility in Ohio, with about 50% of the modernization project supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The efficiencies from that buildout will take years to realize. Cleveland-Cliffs has heavy exposure to the auto industry, and automakers are increasingly incentivized to source steel domestically to keep production costs down.
MarketBeat views the stock as having asymmetric upside potential, though not as clean a bet as Nucor.
The truck maker with a tariff tailwind
PACCAR, the manufacturer of Kenworth and Peterbilt commercial vehicles, is up 18% in 2026 and has grown its dividend for five consecutive years. The stock trades at around 22x forward earnings. A new 50% tariff on those trucks takes effect January 1, 2027, and is expected to give PACCAR a pricing and market-share advantage over European competitors.
The company expects revenue to increase in 2027 as fleets replace aging equipment, and earnings are expected to grow about 20% in the next 12 months. Strong institutional buying in Q2 suggests larger investors are positioning ahead of the tariff, which takes effect just days after PACCAR’s expected earnings report on October 27.
Investors will note that tariffs are generating revenue for the U.S. Treasury, which the analysis says could make reversing them difficult, impractical or unpopular. Volatility is likely given the headline-driven environment, but the three names offer structural advantages in domestic industries that the policy directly supports.
