Why Is Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Down 22.3% Since Last Earnings Report?

Core Viewpoint - Cleveland-Cliffs has experienced a significant decline in share price, losing approximately 22.3% over the past month, underperforming the S&P 500 [1][2]. Financial Performance - In Q4 2025, Cleveland-Cliffs reported an adjusted loss of 43 cents per share, which was better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 62 cents, but worse than the adjusted loss of 68 cents per share in the same quarter the previous year [3]. - Revenues for the quarter were approximately $4,313 million, remaining flat year over year, but missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,620.9 million [3]. - Steelmaking revenues were around $4.15 billion, down about 0.3% year over year, with an average net selling price per net ton of steel products at $993, which is a 2% increase year over year but below the consensus estimate of $1,004 [4]. - External sales volumes for steel products were approximately 3.77 million net tons, down about 1.5% year over year, also falling short of the consensus estimate of 4.01 million net tons [4]. Financial Position - As of the end of Q4, Cleveland-Cliffs had cash and cash equivalents of $57 million, a decrease of about 14% from the prior quarter, while long-term debt decreased by 10% sequentially to $7,253 million [5]. - The company reported total liquidity of $3.3 billion as of December 31, 2025 [5]. Future Outlook - For the full year 2026, Cleveland-Cliffs expects capital expenditures to be around $700 million and SG&A expenses to be approximately $575 million [6]. - The company aims to reduce steel unit costs by about $10 per net ton from 2025 levels, with projected depreciation, depletion, and amortization expenses of roughly $1.1 billion [6]. - Cash pension and other post-employment benefits payments are expected to be around $125 million [6]. Estimate Trends - There has been a downward trend in estimates, with the consensus estimate shifting by -131.11% in the past month [7]. - Cleveland-Cliffs has an average Growth Score of C and a momentum score of C, but a grade of F on the value side, placing it in the bottom 20% for this investment strategy [8]. - The overall aggregate VGM Score for the stock is F, indicating a poor performance across multiple investment strategies [9]. Zacks Rank - Cleveland-Cliffs holds a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell), suggesting expectations of below-average returns in the coming months due to the downward trend in estimates [10].