At a glance
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is worth $7.95B. Revenue fell 3.0% to $18.61B in fiscal 2025, at a loss; over 5 years it has grown 28.3% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $1.13B buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −1.1% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −10.6% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 59.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 60.4% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Cleveland-Cliffs is a North American steelmaker based in Cleveland, Ohio, with about 25,000 employees in the United States and Canada. It mainly makes flat-rolled steel, meaning steel rolled into sheets and plates. Its largest end market is the North American auto industry. The company says automotive steel is harder to make and typically earns higher margins through the business cycle. Other products include galvanized and other coated sheet, stainless steel and electrical steel for grid transformers.
The company is vertically integrated, meaning it owns most steps of production. It mines iron ore and makes pellets. It produces hot-briquetted iron (HBI, a substitute for scrap) in Toledo, Ohio. It then turns these materials into finished and stamped steel. The company says supplying most of its own raw materials makes its costs more predictable than those of electric-furnace rivals that rely on imported pig iron.
In fiscal 2025 (ended December 31, 2025), revenue was $18.61 billion: 85.4% from the United States, 11.1% from Canada and 3.5% from other countries. Buying Stelco on November 1, 2024 expanded its Canadian business. It also doubled the company's exposure to the spot market, where steel sells at short-term prices rather than under contract. A contract to supply semi-finished steel slabs ended on December 9, 2025. It made up about 10% of sales volume and lost money in 2024 and 2025.
Price history
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CLF -1.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By geography
| United States | $15.89B | 85.4% |
| Canada | $2.07B | 11.1% |
| Other countries | $652.0M | 3.5% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $5.61B, up 18.5% from a year earlier, and net income was $152.0M.
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $18.61B (-3.0% year over year; +28.3% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a -7.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +28.3% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | -8.5% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | -5.5% weak |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | -24.2% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | -7.4% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-7.57B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $5.35B | $-122.0M | $-783.0M |
| FY2021 | $20.44B | $2.99B | $2.08B |
| FY2022 | $22.99B | $1.33B | $1.48B |
| FY2023 | $22.00B | $385.0M | $1.62B |
| FY2024 | $19.18B | $-760.0M | $-590.0M |
| FY2025 | $18.61B | $-1.48B | $-1.02B |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $7.95B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | — |
| Dividend yield | 0% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Cleveland-Cliffs’s market value went from $1.94B at the end of 2016 to $7.95B on Oct 28, 2026, about 4.1 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 21%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $7.95B | +21.1% |
| 2025 | $6.57B | +41.5% |
| 2024 | $4.64B | -55.0% |
| 2023 | $10.31B | +24.2% |
| 2022 | $8.30B | -23.7% |
| 2021 | $10.89B | +87.3% |
| 2020 | $5.81B | +156.2% |
| 2019 | $2.27B | -1.0% |
| 2018 | $2.29B | +7.2% |
| 2017 | $2.14B | +10.2% |
| 2016 | $1.94B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLF price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +5.0% | -1.1% | -4.6% | -10.6% | +10.5% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +5.0% |
| 2025 | +41.3% |
| 2024 | -54.0% |
| 2023 | +26.8% |
| 2022 | -26.0% |
| 2021 | +49.5% |
| 2020 | +77.5% |
| 2019 | +12.6% |
| 2018 | +6.7% |
| 2017 | -14.3% |
| 2016 | +432.3% |
| 2015 | -77.9% |
| 2014 | -71.7% |
| 2013 | -30.4% |
| 2012 | -35.1% |
| 2011 | -19.2% |
| 2010 | +70.8% |
| 2009 | +81.5% |
| 2008 | -48.8% |
| 2007 | +109.5% |
| 2006 | +9.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 72.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 89.8%, not recovered by the end of the data |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 59.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 59.6%, back to its old high 6.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 30.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 60.4%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 2 open-market purchases ($299K) and 3 sales ($42.2M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 11, 2026 | Lourenco Goncalves Chairman, President & CEO, Director | sell | $37.3M |
| Jun 5, 2026 | Celso L Jr Goncalves EVP, CFO | sell | $2.9M |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Clifford T Smith EVP & Chief Operating Officer | sell | $2.1M |
| Feb 13, 2026 | Edilson Camara Director | buy | $200K |
| Oct 22, 2026 | Edilson Camara Director | buy | $100K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 8.9% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 5.8% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.24% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CLF
| XME SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF | 4% |
| SLX VanEck Steel ETF | 3.88% |
| RFV Invesco S&P MidCap 400® Pure Value ETF | 2.07% |
| SEIS SEI Select Small Cap ETF | 0.67% |
| GOP Unusual Whales Subversive Republican Trading ETF | 0.47% |
| IFRA iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF | 0.43% |
| PAMC Pacer Lunt MidCap Multi-Factor Alternator ETF | 0.43% |
| QMID WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Quality Growth Fund | 0.42% |
What could go wrong
- Dependence on North American carmakers. The auto industry is its largest end market, and sales are concentrated among a few automakers. A slump in car production, or failing to renew fixed-price contracts with big customers, could cut volumes and revenue.
- Heavy debt while losing money. Total debt was $7.65 billion against $77 million of cash and investments as of September 30, 2026. After net losses in fiscal 2024 and 2025, debt payments could squeeze cash needed to run the business.
- Stelco, POSCO and asset sales may disappoint. The company still faces risks from integrating Stelco, bought in November 2024. A proposed partnership with POSCO, Korea's largest steelmaker, and planned sales of non-core assets may not deliver the expected benefits.
- Costs of idled and closed plants. During 2025 it idled, partly idled or closed six operations. Closing sites brings large costs that may exceed estimates. Idled plants still cost money, and restarting them adds expense.
- Volatile steel, scrap and iron ore prices. Revenue rises and falls with commodity prices the company cannot control. A long slump could force production cuts, write-downs of asset values and losses, especially if input costs stay high.
- Imports, overcapacity and shifting trade policy. Global steel overcapacity and unfairly traded imports can push prices down. Profits also depend on U.S. tariffs and trade rules, which can change, and on how other countries respond to them.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
Cleveland-Cliffs pays no dividend; its yield was 0% as of October 28, 2026. It paid $0.06 per share in fiscal 2020 and nothing from fiscal 2021 through 2025. That means income investors would get no payouts and would rely entirely on price gains. The company spent $1.13 billion on buybacks over those five years but none in fiscal 2025. That year it lost $1.48 billion, and free cash flow (cash left after capital spending) was negative. Even with the buybacks, the share count rose 14.1% between October 2021 and October 2026.
The shares have plunged in past downturns. They dropped 89.8% in the 2008 financial crisis and 60.4% in the 2022 bear market. As of October 28, 2026, they had regained neither earlier peak. In the 2020 COVID crash they fell 59.6% but recovered in about 6.5 months. Like any single stock, Cleveland-Cliffs carries more risk than a diversified fund that spreads money across many companies.
Questions investors ask
How does Cleveland-Cliffs make money?
Cleveland-Cliffs makes money by selling steel, mainly flat-rolled sheet. Its largest end market is the North American auto industry. It controls most of its supply chain, from mining iron ore and making pellets to making, finishing and stamping steel. It also sells coated, stainless and electrical steels, the last used in grid transformers. In fiscal 2025, revenue was $18.61 billion: 85.4% from the United States, 11.1% from Canada and 3.5% from other countries.
Does Cleveland-Cliffs pay a dividend?
No. Its dividend yield was 0% as of October 28, 2026. The company paid $0.06 per share in fiscal 2020 and no dividends from fiscal 2021 through 2025. It returned cash through share buybacks instead, spending $1.13 billion over those five years. It bought back no stock in fiscal 2025, when it posted a $1.48 billion net loss. Investors who want regular income would get none from this stock.
Is Cleveland-Cliffs profitable?
Not in its last two full fiscal years, though its latest reported quarter was profitable. It lost $760 million in fiscal 2024 and $1.48 billion in fiscal 2025. Free cash flow (cash left after capital spending) was negative in both years. In the quarter ended September 30, 2026, it earned $152 million, and revenue rose 18.5% from a year earlier to $5.61 billion. By contrast, it earned $2.99 billion in fiscal 2021, which shows how much steel profits swing.
How much debt does Cleveland-Cliffs have?
Cleveland-Cliffs had $7.65 billion of total debt and $77 million of cash and investments as of September 30, 2026. Its shareholders' equity (assets minus liabilities) was $5.69 billion. Its stock market value was about $7.95 billion as of October 28, 2026. In its annual report filed February 9, 2026, the company said its nearest senior note maturities come in 2029. It also said it intends to use free cash flow and proceeds from any asset sales to pay down debt.
Why is Cleveland-Cliffs stock so volatile?
Its profits swing with steel, scrap and iron ore prices and with car production, which all rise and fall with the economy. Its large debt can magnify those swings for shareholders. As of October 28, 2026, its one-year beta was 2.02, meaning it tended to move about twice as much as the broad market. The stock fell 54% in 2024 and rose 41.3% in 2025. Its deepest peak-to-bottom drop in about 21 years of price history was 98.8%.