With Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Sliding, Have You Assessed The Risk?
Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) stock is down 16.4% in a day. The recent slide reflects concerns from Q4’s revenue miss and 2025’s wider loss amid weak auto demand, but sharp drops like this often raise a tougher question: is the weakness temporary, or a sign of deeper cracks in the story?
Before judging its downturn reslience, let’s look at where Cleveland-Cliffs stands today.
- Size: Cleveland-Cliffs is a $6.1 Bil company with $19 Bil in revenue currently trading at $12.31.
- Fundamentals: Last 12 month revenue growth of -6.8% and operating margin of -8.3%.
- Liquidity: Has Debt to Equity ratio of 1.32 and an extremely low Cash to Assets ratio
- Valuation: Cleveland-Cliffs stock is currently trading at P/E multiple of -3.6 and P/EBIT multiple of -3.9
- Has returned (median) -12.6% within a year following sharp dips since 2010. See CLF Dip Buy Analysis.
These metrics point to a Very Weak operational performance, alongside Very Low valuation – making the stock Unattractive. For details, see Buy or Sell CLF Stock
That brings us to the key consideration for investors worried about this fall: how resilient is CLF stock if markets turn south? This is where our downturn resilience framework comes in. Suppose CLF stock falls another 20-30% to $9 – can investors comfortably hold on? Turns out, the stock has fared much worse than the S&P 500 index during various economic downturns, based on (a) how much the stock fell and, (b) how quickly it recovered. Below, we dive deeper into each such downturn.
2022 Inflation Shock
- CLF stock fell 64.1% from a high of $33.07 on 28 March 2022 to $11.87 on 3 November 2022 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 25.4% for the S&P 500.
- The stock is yet to recover to its pre-Crisis high
- The highest the stock has reached since then is $22.83 on 3 April 2024 , and currently trades at $12.31
| CLF | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -64.1% | -25.4% |
| Time to Full Recovery | Not Fully Recovered | 464 days |
2020 Covid Pandemic
- CLF stock fell 63.5% from a high of $8.40 on 1 January 2020 to $3.07 on 23 March 2020 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 33.9% for the S&P 500.
- However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 23 October 2020
| CLF | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -63.5% | -33.9% |
| Time to Full Recovery | 214 days | 148 days |
2018 Correction
- CLF stock fell 52.7% from a high of $12.03 on 14 February 2017 to $5.69 on 2 June 2017 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 19.8% for the S&P 500.
- However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 18 September 2018
| CLF | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -52.7% | -19.8% |
| Time to Full Recovery | 473 days | 120 days |
2008 Global Financial Crisis
- CLF stock fell 89.9% from a high of $119.19 on 30 June 2008 to $12.01 on 2 March 2009 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 56.8% for the S&P 500.
- The stock is yet to recover to its pre-Crisis high
| CLF | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -89.9% | -56.8% |
| Time to Full Recovery | Not Fully Recovered | 1,480 days |
Feeling jittery about CLF stock? Consider portfolio approach.
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