Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

Motley Fool Transcribing, The Motley Fool

Mon, April 20, 2026 astatine 11:33 AM CDT 34 min read

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Monday, April 20, 2026 astatine 8:30 a.m. ET

• Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer — Lourenco Goncalves

• Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer — Celso Goncalves

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Lourenco Goncalves: Thank you, Kevin, and bully morning, everyone. The archetypal 4th of 2026 was the opening of a sustained betterment progression that volition proceed done the remainder of the year. While Q1 results could beryllium amended and they would beryllium better. if not for a mates of one-timers, we tin spot the wide signs of a affirmative inclination for me. Among these one-timers, the interaction of the spiking connected vigor outgo was the astir applicable to Q1 results. Now to the bully news. Our bid publication is afloat and the automotive OEMs are booking much and much alloy from Cliffs. Production schedules are choky and pb times person moved out.

Historically, Pricing changes took astir a period to travel done our realized numbers. Today, the lag is person to 2 months. In applicable terms, -- that means the pricing spot disposable successful the marketplace contiguous volition progressively amusement up successful our results arsenic we determination done the year, 4th by quarter. That combination, beardown backlogs, disciplined accumulation and visibility is what a steadfast alloy marketplace looks like. The extended pb times let america to optimize accumulation schedules successful our mills, improving our wide efficiency, productivity and costs. This marketplace spot is driven by what is happening connected the commercialized front, alloy imports into the United States are astatine their lowest levels, since 2009.

By now, it's wide that Section 232 works, the melted and poured mandate works and the enforcement works. Along those lines, we are precise encouraged by the caller changes successful however derivative merchandise tariffs are being enforced. Distribution transformers were added, which is precisely the close outcome. The Trump medication has fixed the home alloy manufacture what we needed and person been asking for. Union jobs are being protected. -- home proviso chains are much resilient and mills are moving astatine higher utilization with existent predictability. The 1 portion inactive missing is Canada.

There's a robust home marketplace successful Canada for our Canadian subsidiary, Stelco to merchantability alloy into, but the Canadian marketplace is inactive oversupplied with alloy from countries that are nary longer capable to dump their excess capableness into the United States. Because of that, they dump alloy successful Canada. That said, we are assured that Canada volition yet get to the close spot and heighten its ain nationalist information defenses against the antagonistic interaction of overseas alloy causing the demolition of Canadian companies. We genuinely judge the Canadian authorities is honorable astir defending Canadian jobs successful Canadian alloy workers.