ArcelorMittal's Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates in Q1

Core Viewpoint - ArcelorMittal reported a first-quarter 2025 profit of $805 million, a decrease from$ 938 million in the same quarter last year, but earnings exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents per share [1] Financial Performance - Total sales for the quarter fell approximately 9.1% year over year to $14,798 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$ 14,639.7 million [1] - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter were $5,319 million, down around 2.1% year over year [4] - Long-term debt increased by 2.9% year over year to about$ 8,591 million [4] Segment Review - NAFTA: Sales decreased around 14% year over year to $2,877 million; crude steel production rose 3.4% to 2.3 million metric tons, while shipments fell 5.5% to 2.6 million metric tons [2] - **Brazil**: Sales fell approximately 13.2% year over year to$ 2,648 million; crude steel production increased roughly 0.4% to 3.6 million metric tons, and shipments decreased 0.7% to 3.2 million metric tons [2] - Europe: Sales decreased around 8% year over year to $7,218 million; crude steel production increased roughly 5% to 8 million metric tons, and shipments rose around 4% to 7.5 million metric tons [3] - **Mining**: Sales increased around 0.8% year over year to$ 735 million; iron ore production totaled 8.4 million metric tons, up about 29.2%, and iron ore shipments increased around 26.9% to 8 million metric tons [3] Outlook - The company plans capital expenditures for 2025 to range between $4.5 billion and$ 5 billion, with approximately $1.4 to$ 1.5 billion allocated to strategic growth initiatives and $0.3 to$ 0.4 billion for decarbonization projects [5] - The outlook for free cash flow remains favorable for 2025 and beyond, with expectations of enhanced long-term EBITDA and higher investable cash flow due to strategic growth projects [6] - A new long-term share buyback program has been launched, starting with an initial tranche of 10 million shares beginning on April 7, 2025 [6] Price Performance - Shares of ArcelorMittal have increased by 17.8% over the past year, contrasting with a 35.7% decline in the industry [7]