FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Cleveland-Cliffs Beats First-Quarter Forecasts as Loss Narrows; CEO Signals Profit Ahead

-- Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) first-quarter loss narrowed more than expected with revenue exceeding market estimates, while CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the steel producer anticipates a return to profit in the second quarter.

The company said Monday its adjusted loss narrowed to $0.40 a share in the March quarter from the loss of $0.93 a year earlier, compared with the consensus on FactSet for a loss of $0.43. Revenue rose to $4.92 billion from $4.63 billion, topping the Street's view for $4.81 billion.

First-quarter results "reflected the impact of short-term headwinds like energy prices and price realization lags," Goncalves said in a statement. "As we move through the year, each quarter is expected to improve sequentially, as the momentum already visible in both our order book and pricing continues to translate into earnings and cash flow."

The company expects to "generate healthy positive free cash flow" in the second quarter, marking a return to earnings, Goncalves added.

Steel product sales volume fell to 4.11 million net tons in the first quarter from 4.14 million a year earlier. Steelmaking revenue climbed to $4.76 billion from $4.47 billion.

The conflict in the Middle East has strengthened Cleveland-Cliffs' "competitive position," Goncalves said, though it hasn't improved the timeline for a potential deal with South Korean steelmaker POSCO In October, Cleveland-Cliffs announced a memorandum of understanding with POSCO to explore a partnership focusing on US steel production.

"We continue to negotiate in good faith within the framework of our MOU toward a transaction that is accretive for our shareholders and fully reflects the value of our assets, our market position, and the strength of the US steel demand," Goncalves said.

In 2026, Cleveland-Cliffs continues to expect steel shipment volumes of about 16.5 to 17 million net tons.

The stock fell 4.7% in Monday trading. The shares have declined 29% this year.

Price: $9.48, Change: $-0.47, Percent Change: -4.68%

Related Articles

Australia

Intel Poised for 'Slight Beat' Amid Solid Server CPU Demand, RBC Says

Intel (INTC) is expected to report a "slight beat" in its fiscal first-quarter results amid robust server central processing unit demand, RBC Capital Markets said in a note e-mailed Tuesday.On Thursday, the chipmaker is likely to post adjusted per-share earnings and revenue above RBC's projections for breakeven and $12.20 billion, respectively, for the March quarter, according to the brokerage. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $0.02 and sales of $12.42 billion."We expect a slight beat/raise driven by strong server CPU demand," RBC analyst Srini Pajjuri said. "(Personal computer) market also appears to be holding up for now."First-quarter revenue in the company's data center and artificial intelligence segment is pegged at $4.3 billion, representing a 3% annual gain, with room for potential upside, according to RBC."While demand remains strong, management expected internal wafer supply constraints to be most acute in (the first quarter) which could limit near-term upside," Pajjuri wrote. "Recent media reports point to Intel raising prices which should help."For the current quarter, RBC expects Intel to issue an outlook above Wall Street's estimates of $13.1 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $0.09, driven by server CPU demand and improving wafer supply.The data center and AI business is projected to see sequential growth of 10% in the second quarter, with RBC seeing potential upside amid improving supply and healthy pricing. The brokerage expects server demand to continue to benefit from agentic AI and sees industry supply remaining "tight" through 2026, it said in the note.RBC maintained its sector perform rating on Intel's stock with a $48 price target.The company's shares were up 0.3% in Tuesday afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-gains to nearly 79%.Last year, the US government agreed to invest $8.9 billion in Intel's common stock as part of a deal to secure a stake in the company. Separately, Nvidia (NVDA) agreed to inject $5 billion in Intel under a collaboration that aims to develop new data center and PC chips.Price: $66.04, Change: $+0.34, Percent Change: +0.52%

$INTC$NVDA
Australia

Scholastic Reports Preliminary Results of Dutch Auction Tender Offer

Scholastic (SCHL) on Tuesday announced preliminary results from its modified Dutch auction tender offer, which closed on Monday.The company said that shareholders tendered a total of about 2.85 million shares at or below the $40 per share purchase price, including about 1 million shares that were tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery.Based on the preliminary count, Scholastic expects to purchase all properly tendered shares at $40 each, for a total cost of about $114.1 million, excluding fees and expenses, it added.The company said that following completion of the offer, it expects nearly 17.9 million shares to remain outstanding, representing a reduction of about 13.7% in its share count.Shares of Scholastic rose 2.3% in the session.Price: $40.69, Change: $+0.93, Percent Change: +2.34%

$SCHL
Sectors

Sector Update: Financial

Financial stocks were declining in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.6%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 0.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) fell 1.8%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.9% to $75,117, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 5 basis points to 4.30%.In corporate news, Coinbase (COIN) and Gemini Titan have been sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly violating the state laws against against illegal gambling with their prediction markets, Reuters reported, citing complaints filed in a state court in Manhattan. Coinbase shares fell nearly 7%.

$COIN