United States Steel Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results

• Net earnings of $1,012 million, or $3.53 per diluted share
• Adjusted net earnings of $964 million, or $3.37 per diluted share
• Adjusted EBITDA of $1,286 million
• Liquidity of $4.176 billion, including cash of $1.329 billion

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) reported second quarter 2021 net earnings of $1,012 million, or $3.53 per diluted share. Adjusted net earnings was $964 million, or $3.37 per diluted share. This compares to second quarter 2020 net loss of $589 million, or $3.36 per diluted share. Adjusted net loss for second quarter 2020 was $469 million, or $2.67 per diluted share.

“The second quarter was an exceptional quarter for U. S. Steel,” said U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt. “The enterprise delivered record adjusted EBITDA margins, highlighting the power of a combined integrated and mini mill footprint. Our financial strength gives us the confidence to announce up to $1 billion of additional debt reduction over the next 12 months. This is in addition to the $2.2 billion of debt reduction we’ve already committed to or delivered to date.”

Commenting on U. S. Steel's strategy, Burritt continued, "Our mission is to provide customers with profitable steel solutions that benefit people and planet. Our Best of Both℠ business model creates the platform to transition to Best for All℠ so that we can contribute to a more sustainable future for all our stakeholders. We recently announced an investment in a state-of-the-art non-grain oriented (NGO) electrical steel line that will further Big River Steel’s industry-leading position. This investment allows us to partner with auto OEMs on their own decarbonization goals. We also divested our Transtar rail assets to support our transition to a Best for All strategy.”

Burritt concluded, “We are bullish that today's strong market environment can continue. Our business is firing on all cylinders; our balance sheet has been enhanced, and our pension and OPEB plans are fully funded. We are capitalizing on today’s supportive market to get to our future faster. Our customers are the driving force behind our Best for All ambitions, and we thank our employees for safely delivering record quality and reliability performance for them. We look forward to setting new records in the third quarter and expect to achieve all-time best adjusted EBITDA for the quarter.”

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The Company will conduct a conference call on second quarter 2021 earnings on Friday, July 30, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. To listen to the webcast of the conference call and to access the company's slide presentation, visit the U. S. Steel website, www.ussteel.com, and click “Investors” then "Events & Presentations." Replays of the conference call will be available on the website after 10:30 a.m. on July 30, 2021.

We present adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share, earnings (loss) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP measures, as additional measurements to enhance the understanding of our operating performance. We believe that EBITDA, considered along with net earnings (loss), is a relevant indicator of trends relating to our operating performance and provides management and investors with additional information for comparison of our operating results to the operating results of other companies.

Adjusted net earnings (loss) and adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share are non-GAAP measures that exclude the effects of items that include: debt extinguishment, Big River Steel - inventory step-up amortization, Big River Steel - unrealized losses, Big River Steel - acquisition costs, restructuring and other charges, gain on previously held investment in Big River Steel, asset impairment, property sale, Tubular inventory impairment, uncertain tax positions, gain on previously held investment in UPI, Big River Steel options and forward adjustments and December 24, 2018 Clairton coke making facility fire (Adjustment Items). Adjusted EBITDA is also a non-GAAP measure that excludes the effects of certain Adjustment Items. We present adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA to enhance the understanding of our ongoing operating performance and established trends affecting our core operations, by excluding the effects of events that can obscure underlying trends. U. S. Steel's management considers adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA as alternative measures of operating performance and not alternative measures of the Company's liquidity. U. S. Steel’s management considers adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA useful to investors by facilitating a comparison of our operating performance to the operating performance of our competitors. Additionally, the presentation of adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA provides insight into management’s view and assessment of the Company’s ongoing operating performance, because management does not consider the adjusting items when evaluating the Company’s financial performance. Adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA should not be considered a substitute for net earnings (loss), earnings (loss) per diluted share or other financial measures as computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. A condensed consolidated statement of operations (unaudited), condensed consolidated cash flow statement (unaudited), condensed consolidated balance sheet (unaudited) and preliminary supplemental statistics (unaudited) for U. S. Steel are attached.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains information that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in those sections. Generally, we have identified such forward-looking statements by using the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “forecast,” “aim,” “should,” “will,” "may" and similar expressions or by using future dates in connection with any discussion of, among other things, financial performance, operating performance, trends, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, statements relating to volume changes, share of sales and earnings per share changes, anticipated cost savings, potential capital and operational cash improvements, changes in global supply and demand conditions and prices for our products, international trade duties and other aspects of international trade policy, the integration of Big River Steel in our existing business, business strategies related to the combined business and statements expressing general views about future operating results. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company’s beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control. It is possible that the Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the time made. However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. Our Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described in this report and in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. References to "we," "us," "our," the "Company," and "U. S. Steel," refer to United States Steel Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries, references to “Big River Steel” refer to Big River Steel Holdings LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated by the context, and “Transtar” refers to Transtar LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated by the context.

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Founded in 1901, United States Steel Corporation is a leading steel producer. With an unwavering focus on safety, the company’s customer-centric Best for All℠ strategy is advancing a more secure, sustainable future for U. S. Steel and its stakeholders. With a renewed emphasis on innovation, U. S. Steel serves the automotive, construction, appliance, energy, containers, and packaging industries with high value-added steel products such as U. S. Steel’s proprietary XG3™ advanced high-strength steel. The company also maintains competitively advantaged iron ore production and has an annual raw steelmaking capability of 26.2 million net tons. U. S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with world-class operations across the United States and in Central Europe. For more information, please visit www.ussteel.com.

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