Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares are trading higher premarket on Monday after the company reported third-quarter 2025 results.
The steelmaker reported an adjusted loss of 45 cents per share, beating analysts’ expectations for a 48-cent loss.
Revenue totaled $4.73 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion but up from $4.57 billion in the same quarter last year.
Also Read: Cleveland-Cliffs Q3 Preview: Will Trump Get Praised By Company For Tariffs Again?
Revenue was spread across automotive (30%), infrastructure and manufacturing (29%), distributors and converters (28%), and steel producers (13%). Liquidity stood at $3.1 billion as of September 30, 2025.
Steelmaking revenue rose to $4.6 billion from $4.4 billion a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at $143 million versus $122 million in the year-ago quarter.
Key Metrics
Steel shipments stood at 4.0 million net tons, up from 3.8 million in the third quarter of 2024.
The average selling price fell slightly year-over-year to $1,032/ton from $1,045/ton in the same quarter a year ago.
Product mix was led by hot-rolled (37%), coated (29%), cold-rolled (15%), and plate (6%) products, with the remainder split between stainless/electrical and other products such as slabs and rail.
Management Commentary
Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, said, “Our third quarter results marked a clear sign of demand recovery for automotive-grade steel made in the USA, and that is a direct consequence of the new trade environment implemented and enforced by the Trump Administration.”
“As a result of this new trade environment, we have won new and growing supply arrangements with all major automotive OEMs, locking in multi-year agreements that reflect the reliability of our well-established supply chains anchored by our nine galvanizing plants dedicated to automotive-grade steels, with five of these plants specialized in exposed parts.”
“This past quarter, we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a major global steel producer, which seeks to leverage our unmatched U.S. footprint and trade-compliant operations. We expect the ultimate outcome of this MoU to be highly accretive to our shareholders.”
Outlook
Cleveland-Cliffs expects steel unit costs in 2025 to decline by about $50 per net ton compared to 2024, adjusted for higher automotive shipping volumes.
CLF updated its full-year 2025 outlook, with capital expenditures now expected to be around $525 million, down from the earlier forecast of $600 million.
Also, the company projects selling, general, and administrative expenses at around $550 million, versus the previous estimate of $575 million.
The third quarter performance was characterized by a richer sales mix and improved pricing, which contributed significantly to revenue and margin expansion. These factors were further supported by the company’s continued successful execution on cost management.
The positive trend established is anticipated to accelerate into 2026. This expected acceleration is directly tied to the forthcoming expiration of the slab supply contract to ArcelorMittal, which is scheduled to conclude in early December.
Price Action: Cleveland-Cliffs shares were up 10.81% at $14.76 during premarket trading on Monday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Read Next:
Photo by JHVEPhoto via Shutterstock
