Cleveland-Cliffs Narrows Losses and Revenue Grows, But Analysts Still Cut Price Targets

NEW YORK, April 28 —

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) jumped roughly 9% after posting a narrower Q1 loss than expected on growing revenue.

What Actually Happened

CLF delivered a Q1 that was still unprofitable but meaningfully less unprofitable than a year ago. Revenue grew, which matters for a company that spent 2024 and 2025 digesting the Stelco acquisition and trying to prove it could be more than a blast furnace operator in a cyclical trough.

The more interesting signal: CLF announced a partnership with Palantir to deploy AI across its operations. For a steelmaker running dozens of facilities, the cost reduction potential is real. But it is also the kind of announcement that generates press releases long before it generates margin improvement. The financial impact is a 2027 story at the earliest.

Revenue of $18.9bn on a trailing twelve month basis puts CLF among the largest steelmakers in North America. The company is not small. The question has always been whether it can turn that scale into consistent earnings.

The Catch

Here is the number that should bother the bulls: analysts cut the consensus price target to $10.78. The stock already trades at $10.37. That is 4% of implied upside. After a 9% pop. The Street watched CLF beat expectations and responded by lowering its outlook anyway.

A 23.9x forward P/E on a steelmaker that is still losing money tells you the market is pricing in a recovery that has not arrived yet. Steel is a commodity business. If pricing weakens in Q2, that multiple expands further into uncomfortable territory. Tariff policy could help CLF's domestic pricing power, or it could trigger demand destruction from downstream customers. Both outcomes are plausible. Neither is priced with much margin of safety.

Bottom Line

This was a good quarter for CLF relative to low expectations. The loss narrowed, revenue grew, and management has a credible operational improvement story. That is enough to justify the pop.

But a steel company trading at nearly 24x forward earnings with a consensus target barely above its current price is not a value play. It is a turnaround bet. If you believe steel pricing holds and CLF can grind its way to profitability by late 2026, the stock is interesting here. If you want proof first, the Street is telling you to wait. The number to watch is Q2 steel pricing. Everything else is noise until the commodity cooperates.

Want a deeper look at Cleveland-Cliffs' valuation and financial trends? Generate a free CLF report on Basis Report.

Basis Report does not hold positions in securities discussed. This is not investment advice.