Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Posts Better Sales, Worse Profit — Market Sells the News

TLDR

• CLF reported Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $95M, beating the $92M Wall Street estimate
• EPS came in at -$0.40, missing the -$0.37 consensus by $0.03
• Revenue of $4.92B beat the $4.84B estimate
• The stock fell roughly 1% in premarket trading to $9.84 despite the mixed results
• Trump’s trade enforcement has pushed steel imports to their lowest levels since the global financial crisis

Cleveland-Cliffs had a mixed Q1 — beat on revenue and EBITDA, missed on EPS — and the market wasn’t impressed. The stock slipped anyway.

CLF reported first-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $95 million on Monday, edging past Wall Street’s $92 million estimate. That’s a sharp turnaround from a year ago, when the company posted an EBITDA loss of $174 million.

Revenue came in at $4.92 billion, above the $4.84 billion consensus. But EPS landed at -$0.40, missing the -$0.37 estimate by three cents.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., CLF

The company flagged a one-time $80 million energy cost hit tied to extreme cold weather during the quarter. Without that, the underlying numbers look considerably stronger.

Shipments held roughly flat year over year at 4.1 million tons. Pricing, however, improved. CLF’s average selling price rose to $1,048 per ton, up from $980 a year ago.

The stock opened at $9.91 and was trading around $9.84 in premarket, down about 1%. That puts it well below its 200-day moving average of $11.80.

CLF entered the week down 25% year-to-date, though it’s up 36% over the past 12 months. The 1-year range sits between $5.63 and $16.70.

Trade Policy Playing a Real Role

Hot-rolled coil prices are currently around $1,100 per ton — up from below $700 before tariffs on imported steel and aluminum were put in place in early 2025.

In April, the Trump administration updated the tariff structure. Companies now pay a flat 25% fee on the full value of products made substantially from steel, aluminum, or copper — rather than a tariff based only on the metal content’s value.

The company held its full-year guidance steady. It expects shipments of 16.5 to 17.0 million tons and capital spending of around $700 million.

Analyst and Insider Activity

Analyst sentiment is mixed. The stock carries an average “Hold” rating from 11 analysts, with two Buy ratings, seven Holds, and two Sells. The average price target sits at $12.69 — well above current levels.

Argus upgraded CLF to “Hold” on April 6. Wells Fargo cut its target from $12 to $9. Citigroup raised its target from $11 to $13. GLJ Research kept a “Sell” rating with a $9.42 target.

Insider Moves

On the insider front, Director Edilson Camara bought 19,700 shares at $10.13 in February — an 88% increase in his position. COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares at $10.46 around the same time, reducing his stake by about 26%.

Institutional investors own 67.68% of CLF. Recent buyers include Focus Partners Wealth, Prudential Financial, and Invesco, which added over 520,000 shares in Q2.

The company’s debt-to-equity ratio stands at 1.15, with a current ratio of 1.95 and a market cap of $5.65 billion.

The post Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Posts Better Sales, Worse Profit — Market Sells the News appeared first on CoinCentral.