Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Price, News & Analysis

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) is a North America-based steel producer with a core focus on value-added sheet products, particularly for the automotive industry. The company describes itself as vertically integrated across the steel value chain, from the mining of iron ore and production of pellets and direct reduced iron to the processing of ferrous scrap, primary steelmaking, and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing. Cleveland-Cliffs is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio and has operations in the United States and Canada.

According to the company’s public disclosures, Cleveland-Cliffs supplies flat-rolled steel products to a range of end markets, with a significant emphasis on automotive customers. The company notes that it is a supplier of steel to the automotive industry in North America and highlights value-added sheet products and exposed parts for automotive applications as key areas of focus. Its vertically integrated structure links upstream iron ore mining and pellet production with steelmaking and downstream processing capabilities.

Business model and operations

Cleveland-Cliffs states that it is vertically integrated from mined raw materials through to finished steel products. This includes iron ore mining, pellet production, direct reduced iron, and ferrous scrap processing, which feed into primary steelmaking. The company then carries products through downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing operations. This integrated approach is structured to connect raw material supply with steel production and finished flat-rolled steel offerings.

In prior descriptions, the company has indicated that it is organized into operating segments related to differentiated products, including Steelmaking, Tubular, Tooling and Stamping, and European Operations, while reporting through a single Steelmaking segment. Its activities span upstream mining and midstream steel production through to downstream processing for customers in automotive and other markets that use flat-rolled steel products.

End markets and automotive focus

Cleveland-Cliffs emphasizes its focus on value-added sheet products for the automotive industry. In its earnings communications, the company highlights direct sales to automotive customers as a significant portion of steelmaking revenues. It also reports that it has supply arrangements with major automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and that it ships automotive-grade steel, including exposed parts, from multiple galvanizing plants dedicated to automotive-grade steels.

The company has also reported a production trial with a major automotive OEM in which its exposed steel parts were stamped using existing aluminum-forming equipment. Cleveland-Cliffs states that the trial demonstrated that its steel could replace aluminum in certain automotive applications without changes to the stamping line, and that this has led to routine production and delivery of orders to that client, as well as inquiries from other clients for programs to replace aluminum with its steel.

Geographic footprint

Cleveland-Cliffs is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company states that it employs approximately 30,000 people across its operations in the United States and Canada. It has indicated that the majority of its revenue is generated in the United States, and that it serves customers in North America, including automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, distributors and converters, and steel producers.

Capital structure and financing activities

Cleveland-Cliffs regularly uses public and private capital markets to manage its balance sheet and fund its operations. The company has issued senior guaranteed notes due 2034 in private offerings exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, and has described these notes as general unsecured senior obligations guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by certain material domestic subsidiaries. The indenture governing these notes includes covenants related to liens, sale and leaseback transactions, mergers or consolidations, and transfers of substantially all assets, as well as provisions related to change of control triggering events.

In addition to debt offerings, Cleveland-Cliffs has announced underwritten public offerings of common shares. The company has stated that it intends to use net proceeds from such offerings and from note issuances primarily to repay borrowings under its asset-based credit facility, and for general corporate purposes. It has also described the use of proceeds from certain notes to redeem existing senior guaranteed notes due 2027 and to repay borrowings under its asset-based credit facility.

Earnings reporting and investor communications

Cleveland-Cliffs reports its financial results through quarterly earnings releases and associated conference calls with securities analysts and institutional investors. The company has announced specific dates on which it releases quarterly and full-year results and provides live webcasts and archived replays through its website. It also furnishes earnings releases as exhibits to Current Reports on Form 8-K under Item 2.02, "Results of Operations and Financial Condition."

In its third-quarter 2025 results release, Cleveland-Cliffs reported steel shipments, revenues, and measures such as GAAP net income (or loss) and Adjusted EBITDA. It also provided information on its steel product sales mix by product type and revenue breakdown by end market, including automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, distributors and converters, and steel producers. The company has communicated expectations and guidance for items such as capital expenditures, selling, general and administrative expenses, steel unit cost reductions, depreciation, depletion and amortization, and cash pension and other post-employment benefit payments, while cautioning that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties.

Strategic initiatives and partnerships

Cleveland-Cliffs has disclosed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with POSCO, described as Korea’s largest steelmaker and a major global steel producer. Under this MoU, POSCO is identified as a strategic partner in a transformative agreement aligned with a U.S.–Korea trade agreement. The company states that the partnership is intended to support POSCO’s U.S. customer base while ensuring that products meet U.S. trade and origin requirements, and that the collaboration is expected to be accretive to Cleveland-Cliffs’ shareholders. The company has also indicated that a formal announcement on a definitive agreement related to this MoU is expected within a specified timeframe, subject to closing.

In its communications, Cleveland-Cliffs has also discussed its role in the U.S. steel ecosystem and noted that it has supply arrangements with major automotive OEMs. It has referenced its galvanizing plants dedicated to automotive-grade steels and its positions in various steel product categories, while emphasizing the importance of trade-compliant operations and domestic supply chains.

Upstream resources and rare earths potential

Beyond its steelmaking activities, Cleveland-Cliffs has discussed the potential for rare earths extraction at certain upstream mining assets. The company has stated that it has reviewed its ore bodies and tailings basins and identified two sites, one in Michigan and one in Minnesota, where geological surveys show indicators of rare-earth mineralization. It has characterized this as a potential opportunity aligned with broader national strategies for critical material independence, while cautioning that the economic potential of rare-earth extraction would depend on further technical and economic studies.

Corporate governance and board composition

Cleveland-Cliffs is incorporated in Ohio and files reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Commission File Number 1-8944. The company’s board of directors oversees governance and compensation matters through committees such as the Compensation and Organization Committee. In an 8-K filing, the company reported the appointment of Edilson Camara to its Board of Directors as an independent, nonemployee director and as a member of the Compensation and Organization Committee. As a nonemployee director, he participates in the company’s Nonemployee Directors’ Compensation Plan and is entitled to restricted share awards and quarterly retainer fees, along with a director and officer indemnification agreement consistent with the company’s standard form.

Risk factors and operating environment

In its forward-looking statements and risk factor discussions, Cleveland-Cliffs identifies a range of risks that could affect its business, including volatility in steel, scrap metal and iron ore prices; the cyclical and competitive nature of the steel industry; reliance on demand from the automotive industry; global economic conditions; excess global steelmaking capacity and imports; regulatory and environmental requirements; supply chain disruptions; availability and cost of energy and raw materials; and operational risks such as equipment failures, adverse weather, and geological conditions. The company also cites risks related to indebtedness, access to capital, labor relations, pension and post-employment benefit obligations, cybersecurity, and potential challenges in integrating acquisitions or realizing expected synergies.

Cleveland-Cliffs directs investors to its Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the "Risk Factors" section, and other SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of these and other risks. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and notes that it undertakes no obligation to update such statements except as required by law.

Summary

Overall, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. presents itself as a vertically integrated steel producer with a focus on value-added sheet products for the automotive industry, supported by upstream iron ore mining and pellet production and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing capabilities. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio and operating in the United States and Canada, the company combines mining, steelmaking, and processing activities, engages in capital markets transactions to manage its capital structure, and reports regularly to investors through earnings releases and SEC filings.