Why Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Crashed Today
An underwhelming 2025 should transition to a better 2026 for Cliffs and other steelmakers.
Shares of steelmaker and miner Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF 17.04%) plunged as much as 25% today after a disappointing fourth-quarter report. The news wasn't all bad, however. Shipments are expected to grow this year for Cliffs and other steel companies. Today's news came after the stock had soared 50% over the past six months. Cliffs shares recovered from the early plunge, but were still 19.9% lower as of 11:35 a.m. ET.
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Growth ahead The steelmaker reported flat fourth-quarter sales when analysts had expected a mid-single-digit increase. While an improvement over the prior-year period, its quarterly loss was also more than anticipated. Management is ready to turn the corner after a disappointing year. The automotive market didn't provide a boost, and the company struggled with costs and a sluggish Canadian market. Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves struck an optimistic tone, though. He said the negative situations have all improved entering 2026, noting the company has now "signed multi-year contracts with all our major automotive customers, reduced unit costs year-over-year, extended our debt maturities, and lowered capital expenditures, among several other initiatives." ExpandNYSE: CLFCleveland-CliffsToday's Change(-17.04%) $-2.51Current Price$12.22Key Data PointsMarket Cap$8.4BDay's Range$11.03 - $13.3152wk Range$5.63 - $16.70Volume1.9MAvg Vol16MGross Margin-429.60%
At the midpoint of its guidance, the Cliffs expects shipment volume to increase about 3.4% in 2026. That mirrors comments from peer steelmaker Nucor last month, saying it is seeing "robust demand in several key end markets." It expects an approximately 5% increase in steel shipments this year.
Cliffs is also working on a strategic partnership with South Korea's POSCO. Investors may be waiting to hear more details on that before giving the company the benefit of the doubt for an improving 2026.