Cleveland-Cliffs reported second quarter revenue of $5.23 billion, up 5.9% year over year from $4.93 billion in Q2 FY'25 and up from $4.9 billion in Q1 FY'26. Adjusted loss per share came in at $0.20, narrower than the $0.51 adjusted loss a year ago, while the GAAP loss was $0.25 per diluted share versus a $0.86 loss in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA nearly tripled sequentially to $286 million from $95 million in Q1, aided by higher steel pricing, lower cost of goods sold, and reduced restructuring charges, even as extended maintenance outages in April and May capped shipment volumes.
Note: Cleveland-Cliffs' FY'25 ended on December 31, 2025. Q2 FY'26 ended on June 30, 2026.
The Defense Logistics Agency awarded Cleveland-Cliffs a fixed-price contract worth up to 400 million dollars over five years for grain-oriented electrical steel, covering as much as 53,000 net tons for national security applications. Alongside this, management pointed to tariff-driven import reduction and automotive reshoring as tailwinds, and guided Q3 adjusted EBITDA to roughly 575 million dollars, more than double the Q2 result, with a longer-term target of 3.3 billion dollars in adjusted EBITDA by 2027.
Below are key drivers of Cleveland-Cliffs' value that present opportunities for upside or downside to the current Trefis price estimate:
For additional details, select a division from the interactive Trefis split for Cleveland-Cliffs at the top of the page.
Cleveland-Cliffs is a vertically integrated North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel, supplying automotive, infrastructure, distributor, and industrial customers largely from domestic mining and steelmaking assets.
The Steelmaking segment, which now represents essentially all of Cliffs' revenue, is the primary driver of the company's value given its scale and end-market reach.
Cliffs supplies a large share of steel used by North American automakers and has recently been recognized as a top supplier by Toyota and General Motors, a position management says is difficult for import competitors to replicate given quality and logistics requirements for high end automotive steel.
Because Cliffs mines and processes much of its own iron ore, it captures margin across the value chain from raw material to finished steel, providing a cost and supply-security advantage over steelmakers that must purchase iron ore on the open market.
Stricter enforcement of Section 232 tariffs has reduced flat-rolled steel imports by about 57% from 2024 levels, tightening the domestic market and supporting higher realized prices, a trend Cliffs is positioned to benefit from as one of the largest domestic flat-rolled producers.
Management is combining resets of legacy fixed-price contracts with continued cost control, targeting a return to sustained free cash flow after two years of cash burn, alongside debt reduction as adjusted EBITDA scales toward its 2027 target.
Cliffs has begun early negotiations with the United Steelworkers on a new collective bargaining agreement, described by management as constructive so far; the outcome will influence the company's cost structure and operational continuity over the next contract cycle.
