stockrowWhat it does
Cleveland-Cliffs is a North American steel producer focused on sheet products, particularly steel used by the automotive industry. Founded in 1846, it is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Lourenco Goncalves is chairman, president and chief executive officer.
The company takes part in several stages of making steel. It mines iron ore, turns it into pellets, produces direct reduced iron and processes scrap metal. It then makes steel and finishes it to customer specifications. It also makes products such as tubing, stamped components and tooling used in manufacturing.
Its steel products include hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheet, coated steel, plate, stainless steel and electrical steel. Coated sheet can be used in vehicle bodies, while electrical steel is used in products such as transformers and electric vehicle motors. The company also sells raw materials and semi-finished steel to other steel producers.
Cleveland-Cliffs serves automotive manufacturers, infrastructure and manufacturing customers, steel distributors and converters, and other steel producers. Distributors and converters buy steel and fabricate it for their own customers. The company’s facilities and customers are principally in North America.
Its production system combines its own raw-material operations with steel mills and finishing facilities. Raw steel is generally cast into slabs before being finished on site or at a separate finishing facility. Cleveland-Cliffs also works with automotive customers on product development and technical requirements.
How it makes money
Cleveland-Cliffs earns revenue primarily by making and selling steel. Its Steelmaking segment covers production from raw materials through finished products, while Other Businesses include tubing, tooling and stamping operations. The latter provide products and services such as steel tubes, tool design and construction, stamped components and assemblies.
Steelmaking revenue was $18.1 billion in FY2025, representing 97.1% of company revenue. Other Businesses revenue was $657.0 million in FY2025.
The company sells products ranging from hot-rolled sheet and plate to coated, stainless and electrical steels. It also sells iron ore, scrap, coal, coke, direct reduced iron and steel slabs to other producers. Automotive customers buy products including cold-rolled, galvanized, aluminized, electrical and stainless steel; infrastructure and manufacturing customers buy products for uses ranging from appliances and machinery to transformers.
Pricing differs by customer and product. Cleveland-Cliffs sells approximately 35-40% of its flat-rolled steel shipments under fixed-price contracts, typically for a year or more. Some contracts include surcharges that pass through changes in input costs. The remaining shipments are sold at spot prices or under contracts tied to a published steel-price index. Most automotive sales are under annual or multi-year fixed-price contracts, while sales to distributors and converters are typically spot or index-linked.
In October 2026, the company said it was changing customer contracts to make minimum contracted tonnage take-or-pay: customers must pay for the minimum even if they do not take it. It also said it was moving contracts to index pricing with lower discounts and passing costs through to customers.
| Segment | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steelmaking | $18.1 billion | 97.1% | −2.99% |
| Other Businesses | $657.0 million | 3.53% | 0.15% |
| Eliminations | −$110.0 million | −0.59% | — |
Customers and how it sells
Cleveland-Cliffs sells principally to customers in North America. Its customer groups are direct automotive manufacturers, infrastructure and manufacturing businesses, distributors and converters, and other steel producers. The automotive industry is an important end market, and North American light vehicle production drives demand for its products.
Distributors and converters act as intermediaries: they buy different grades of steel and fabricate them to their customers’ needs. Infrastructure and manufacturing customers use steel in products such as appliances, transformers, ships, machinery and heavy equipment. Other steel producers buy materials and products including scrap, iron ore, coke and slabs.
The United States accounted for $15.9 billion, or 85.4%, of revenue in FY2025. Canada accounted for $2.1 billion, or 11.1%, and other countries accounted for $652.0 million, or 3.50%.
The Stelco acquisition expanded the company’s Canadian presence and added customers in service centers, construction and other industrial markets. Those sales include more exposure to spot pricing. In October 2026, Cleveland-Cliffs said it supplied steel for Ford’s F-150. It also said the Dearborn blast furnace remained down because customers had not committed to the tonnage the company wanted.
| Region | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $15.9 billion | 85.4% | −8.38% |
| Canada | $2.1 billion | 11.1% | 94.1% |
| Other countries | $652.0 million | 3.50% | −16.2% |
Suppliers and costs
Cleveland-Cliffs supplies much of its own ferrous raw material. Its iron ore mines are in Michigan and Minnesota, its direct reduction plant is in Ohio, and its scrap facilities are in the United States and Ontario. It also operates a West Virginia coal mining complex and coke facilities in several states and Ontario. The company says it sources the vast majority of its iron ore pellet requirements internally.
Its steel production and finishing facilities are in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ontario. The company uses blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces, then casts and finishes steel to customer specifications. Direct reduced iron from its Toledo facility can be used in blast furnaces or as an alternative to scrap in steelmaking furnaces.
Raw materials, energy, maintenance and labor are costs of operating the business. Cleveland-Cliffs also provides pension and healthcare benefits to retirees, which affect production costs relative to some competitors. It reduced cost per ton in 2025 as it worked through higher-cost inventory and benefited from lower coal and alloy costs.
In October 2026, the company expected costs to rise slightly in the fourth quarter because of repair and maintenance schedules, higher energy and alloy costs, and elevated diesel prices.
- Revenue$18.6B
- Cost of revenue−$19.5B
- Selling, general and administrative−$543.0M
- Other operating costs−$176.0M
- Operating income−$1.6B
Competitive position
Cleveland-Cliffs competes with domestic and foreign steel producers, as well as suppliers of materials that can replace steel, including aluminum, carbon fiber and concrete. Its downstream tooling, stamping and tubular businesses compete in fragmented markets. Price, quality, delivery, customer service, technical expertise and product innovation are competitive factors.
In Canada, the company has identified ArcelorMittal alongside its own operations and imported galvanized steel when discussing supply in the domestic market. Cleveland-Cliffs also faces competition from imported steel and additional domestic electric arc furnace capacity. Trade policy and changes in import levels can affect that competition.
Our reading: Automotive expertise is a meaningful source of differentiation because serving vehicle manufacturers requires demanding specifications, technical support and investment in equipment and research. Those requirements do not remove competition from other steelmakers or from aluminum.
Our reading: Internal raw-material sourcing offers a cost and supply advantage when purchased feedstock prices are volatile, although it does not insulate the company from energy, labor or other operating costs. Its mines, steel mills and finishing operations also require capital to maintain.
Our reading: Customer relationships and product development support the company’s position in automotive steel, but the strength of those relationships still depends on delivery, quality and pricing.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| ArcelorMittal | Canadian galvanized steel | Medium |
Growth opportunities
Cleveland-Cliffs expects demand for its automotive steel to benefit from healthier domestic vehicle production. It also develops steel products with automotive customers seeking lighter vehicles. The company says its electrical steels can serve electric vehicle motors and transformers used in the electricity grid.
In October 2026, the company said it was adding 25% new production of grain-oriented electrical steel at its Butler, Pennsylvania plant. It was also bringing a Burns Harbor galvanizing line online to produce steel for exposed automotive parts, with hot trials expected in early 2027. Cleveland-Cliffs said it was developing the use of exposed electro-galvanized steel with automotive customers.
The company has sought to improve its product mix. A slab supply contract that was unprofitable in 2024 and 2025 expired on December 9, 2025. Cleveland-Cliffs said in October 2026 that not renewing it had benefited results. It has also explored sales of non-core assets and said in October 2026 that asset sales were contracted and expected to close in the fourth quarter, while noting that delays were possible.
The company has identified potential rare-earth extraction opportunities at two sites associated with its mining assets. Further technical and economic studies are needed, and Cleveland-Cliffs says there is no assurance that extraction would be economical. It has also signed a memorandum of understanding with POSCO concerning a potential strategic partnership.
- $20.4BFY2021
- $23.0BFY2022
- $22.0BFY2023
- $19.2BFY2024
- $18.6BFY2025
Structural risks
- Steel and commodity cycles: Volatile prices for steel, scrap and iron ore affect Cleveland-Cliffs’ revenue, cash flow and ability to fund operations. Demand also depends on economic activity, including vehicle production and construction.
- Imports and trade policy: Domestic and foreign steel capacity, imports and changes to tariffs can affect steel prices and demand. Changes in trade rules can also affect the company’s cross-border shipments.
- Operating costs and facilities: Higher raw-material, electricity, fuel or other energy prices could increase expenses. Idled facilities can also produce charges; in 2025, the company incurred charges associated with operating adjustments at Hibbing, Minorca and Dearborn.
- Debt and liquidity: Existing and future debt may limit cash available for investment and make it harder to meet obligations. The company also faces risks associated with servicing debt added for the Stelco acquisition.
- Environmental and regulatory obligations: Steelmaking and mining face air, water, waste and greenhouse-gas requirements. New or revised rules may increase costs, require investment or restrict operations. Carbon-related requirements may also raise costs passed on by energy providers and other suppliers.
Bottom line
Our reading
Cleveland-Cliffs combines automotive-focused steelmaking with mines, scrap processing and finishing operations. Our reading: that integration and its automotive capabilities provide ways to compete beyond price, but the business remains exposed to steel cycles, industrial demand and operating costs. Debt and the capital required to maintain and develop its facilities add financial demands alongside those exposures.