Cleveland-Cliffs Reports Mixed Q2 Earnings, Investors Focus On Strong Free Cash Flow Generation, Continued Cost-Cutting Initiative

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc CLF reported financial results for the second quarter after the market close on Monday. Here’s a look at the key metrics from the quarter.

Q2 Earnings: Cleveland-Cliffs reported second-quarter revenue of $5.1 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $5.1 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company reported breakeven adjusted earnings, beating analyst estimates for a loss of 2 cents per share.

Steel shipments totaled 4 million net tons in the second quarter. Cash flow from operations was $519 million during the quarter, while free cash flow came in at $362 million.

Cleveland-Cliffs said it repurchased 7.5 million shares under its previously authorized $1.5 billion share repurchase program during the second quarter. The company had total liquidity of $3.7 billion as of June 30.

“Despite a less-than-ideal steel demand and weak pricing throughout the quarter, Cliffs operated very well. We met our cost reduction target and shipped the tonnage we had planned for. With that, we were able to pay down over $200 million in debt and also return approximately $125 million to our shareholders via share buybacks,” said Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs.

Outlook: Cleveland-Cliffs lowered its full-year 2024 expected capital expenditures range from a range of $675 million to $725 million to a new range of $650 million to $700 million. The company also noted that its year-over-year steel unit cost reductions objective of approximately $30 per net ton remains on track.

“Looking forward, we expect to benefit in Q3 from another major step down in costs. Our largest end market — the automotive sector — remains in good shape, and orders from service center customers are expected to increase as seaborne steel imports dry up,” Goncalves said.

Management will hold a conference call to discuss its quarterly results Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET.

CLF Price Action: Cleveland-Cliffs shares were up 3.02% after hours at $15.85 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

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