Gerdau’s NYSE ADRs (GGB) are rising as the market revisits the company’s latest shareholder-return actions, highlighted by a newly authorized buyback program allowing repurchases of up to 56.4 million shares over 18 months. The board also approved a BRL 0.10 per-share dividend with key March 2026 dates (record date March 10, ex-dividend March 11, payment March 18), reinforcing a capital-returns narrative that can support the stock on up days even without a same-day earnings catalyst.

With GGB trading like a cyclical/value ADR, incremental clarity on buybacks can matter because it directly affects supply/demand for shares and signals management’s confidence in free cash flow. Investors have also been treating Gerdau as a relative beneficiary of U.S.-centric production and trade dynamics in long steel, making the stock sensitive to broader “steel complex” strength and policy headlines that favor domestic pricing.

The near-term question is execution: whether repurchases begin quickly and at what pace under the 18-month authorization. Investors will also focus on any updates around 2026 capital allocation and North America operating trends, since that region has been positioned as a key earnings driver and any demand softness could reduce the free cash flow that funds buybacks and dividends.