Gerdau is a Brazilian steel company — the largest steel producer in Brazil and the leading long steel producer in the Americas. Gerdau makes construction-grade long steel products (rebar, wire rod, beams, merchant bars) and special steels for demanding applications like automotive and industrial use. Roughly 70% of Gerdau's steel comes from mini mills that melt recycled scrap steel in electric arc furnaces (EAFs), with the remainder coming from integrated blast furnace production, primarily at the large Ouro Branco mill in Brazil. Gerdau sells to steel service centers, distributors, fabricators, and OEMs directly, using its own retail distribution network (Comercial Gerdau) in Brazil and centrally managed sales offices in North America. Gerdau reports three segments: North America (~51% of net sales), Brazil (~43%), and South America (~8%). The core profit driver is the "metal spread" — the difference between finished steel prices and raw material input costs, primarily scrap. Profitability is also highly leveraged to volume, as a significant portion of costs are fixed. Gerdau's two major near-term investments are the Miguel Burnier mining project, which targets 5.5M tonnes of iron ore annually to lower Ouro Branco's input costs, and an expansion of hot-rolled coil capacity at Ouro Branco. Gerdau has otherwise reduced future capital commitments, particularly in Brazil, citing poor returns in a market under pressure from subsidized Chinese steel imports.