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Cleveland-Cliffs earns most of its revenue from steelmaking and steel sales. It supplies much of its own iron-bearing raw material through its mines, iron-processing plants and scrap facilities, then makes and finishes steel to customer specifications. Buyers are mainly in North America and include vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure and manufacturing businesses, and distributors and processors that resell or further process the steel.
Automotive is its largest end-use market, including steel sold indirectly through distributors and processors. The business is concentrated among certain vehicle manufacturers, making vehicle production and contract renewals important. Most automotive sales use annual or multi-year fixed-price contracts; demanding specifications generally command higher prices than commodity steel.
Other steel sales largely use spot prices or contracts linked to steel-price indexes. Domestic hot-rolled coil prices are a key driver of earnings, while purchased energy and other inputs affect costs. Sales contracts generally do not pass through all cost increases. Steelmaking and mining also require permits with environmental and safety conditions that can restrict production.
The risk section is the longest, dullest part of the filing. This keeps only what can really hurt you: where it hits, how hard, when it plays out.
Every company claims an edge. Each one is checked against hard numbers like margins and returns: which hold, and which line gives way first.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ results hinge on North American vehicle production and flat-steel prices; U.S. Steel is another important competitor to watch beyond this list.
Steel Dynamics competes with Cleveland-Cliffs to sell flat-rolled steel to North American manufacturers and distributors, exposing both to the same pricing and industrial-demand swings. Watch its flat-rolled steel business for signs of stronger or weaker buying by those customers.
Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs compete for manufacturers’ and steel processors’ flat-rolled steel orders, so domestic steel prices and manufacturing demand matter to both. Watch Nucor’s steel-mill business alongside U.S. hot-rolled-coil prices, the index Cleveland-Cliffs identifies as its strongest steelmaking revenue and profit driver.
Algoma Steel Group Inc. competes with Cleveland-Cliffs in hot-rolled sheet, cold-rolled sheet and plate across North America, including Canada. Its sheet business offers a view of demand from automotive and manufacturing customers in a region important to Cleveland-Cliffs.
ArcelorMittal competes with Cleveland-Cliffs to sell sheet and plate to automotive and industrial buyers in the Americas. Watch its automotive steel business in that region rather than its worldwide totals: North American vehicle production is a key demand driver for Cleveland-Cliffs.
Cleveland-Cliffs pays SunCoke Energy for coke used in blast-furnace steelmaking under long-term contracts requiring payment even if it does not take the coke, and also buys industrial services from it. Watch SunCoke’s contracted coke supply: Cleveland-Cliffs makes more than half its coke itself but relies on outside suppliers for the rest.
POSCO Holdings competes with Cleveland-Cliffs in flat steel, but the two are also negotiating a strategic partnership under a non-binding memorandum of understanding. Watch for definitive agreements and closing: Cleveland-Cliffs expects potential proceeds to help reduce debt, but neither completion nor those benefits is assured.
Worthington Steel buys steel coils from Cleveland-Cliffs and processes them to its customers’ specifications, making its purchasing a direct source of demand for Cleveland-Cliffs. Because Worthington generally buys for specific customer orders, watch its coil purchasing for clues to downstream demand.
Ternium competes with Cleveland-Cliffs in Mexico’s flat-steel market and also sells into parts of the United States, supplying steel processors and end users. Watch its flat-steel business in Mexico and its sales along the U.S. Gulf Coast and much of the West Coast, where it competes despite a relatively small U.S. presence.
Reliance distributes carbon and specialty steel to North American buyers, putting it in the same demand channel that generated 28% of Cleveland-Cliffs’ 2025 revenue through distributors and converters. Watch Reliance’s steel sales for signs of customer buying strength; Cleveland-Cliffs said uneven buying by service centers and other customers reduced its tons sold in 2025.
Reliance, Inc. earningsRS
Reliance’s steel sales will show whether North American distributors and converters are buying more steadily, an important sales channel for Cleveland-Cliffs.
Read Reliance’s steel sales alongside its selling prices. Stronger sales would suggest distributors and converters are buying more steadily, supporting demand for Cleveland-Cliffs’ shipments through this channel. Weaker sales would suggest customer buying may still be uneven, leaving those shipments under pressure.
Nucor Corporation earningsNUE
Nucor’s steel-mill results and U.S. hot-rolled-coil prices will show the order and pricing conditions it shares with Cleveland-Cliffs.
Read Nucor’s steel-mill performance alongside U.S. hot-rolled-coil (HRC) prices. Stronger mill results with firm prices would point to manufacturing demand and steel pricing that better support Cleveland-Cliffs. Weaker results with falling prices would signal pressure on its selling prices and margins.
SUNCOKE ENERGY INC earningsSXC
SunCoke Energy’s coke business will show whether part of the coke supply Cleveland-Cliffs buys for its blast furnaces is operating reliably.
Look for signs that SunCoke Energy’s coke operations are running steadily. Stable operations would support the coke supply Cleveland-Cliffs buys; disruption could put steel production at risk. Cleveland-Cliffs must pay under its contracts even if it does not take the coke, so weaker purchases or demand would not necessarily lower its costs.
Durable Goods Orders MoM (Sep)
Cleveland-Cliffs makes steel for automakers and infrastructure and manufacturing customers, so orders for long-lasting goods and equipment can change how much steel they buy and the prices the company receives.
Expected0.2%Last release-0.1%
If it comes in above expectations
If the reading is above the 0.2% estimate, it is above the previous -0.1%. If more orders signal stronger demand from manufacturers and business investment, automotive and industrial customers may buy more steel, supporting Cleveland-Cliffs' shipments and the prices it receives on spot and index-linked sales.
If it comes in below expectations
If fewer orders signal weaker demand, those customers may buy less steel, reducing Cleveland-Cliffs' shipments and potentially pressuring spot and index-linked prices; lower output can also leave its steelmaking facilities with less production to spread fixed costs across.
ArcelorMittal earningsMT
ArcelorMittal’s automotive steel business in the Americas will show whether demand is supporting orders in a market it shares with Cleveland-Cliffs.
Read ArcelorMittal’s automotive steel business in the Americas alongside North American vehicle production. Stronger business with vehicle production holding up would point to firmer demand in Cleveland-Cliffs’ largest end market. Weakness in both would signal more pressure on its automotive orders, though one competitor’s results cannot establish the whole market.
Industrial Production MoM (Oct)
Cleveland-Cliffs sells steel to infrastructure and manufacturing customers, which supplied 29% of its 2025 revenue, so factory, mine and utility output helps indicate demand for the steel it ships and sells.
Stronger factory, mine and utility output points to firmer demand for industrial inputs, which may support orders for Cleveland-Cliffs steel from infrastructure and manufacturing customers; weaker output points to less potential demand and pressure on shipments and prices.
Worthington Steel, Inc. earningsWS
Worthington Steel buys coils from Cleveland-Cliffs for customer orders, so its purchases will show whether downstream demand is reaching the steelmaker.
Read Worthington Steel’s coil purchases alongside its processing activity. Stronger purchases and processing would suggest customer orders are pulling more steel through processors, supporting Cleveland-Cliffs’ sales to Worthington Steel. Weakness in both would mean less downstream demand is feeding into those purchases.
