Cleveland-Cliffs, Nucor Shares Are Sliding Tuesday: What's Going On?

Shares of steelmakers Cleveland-Cliffs Inc CLF and Nucor Corp NUE are moving lower Tuesday on the heels of the companies’ first-quarter financial results. Here’s what you need to know.

What Happened With CLF: After the market close on Monday, Cleveland-Cliffs reported first-quarter revenue of $5.2 billion, which missed the consensus estimate of $5.346 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company reported adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share, which missed analyst estimates of 22 cents per share. Steel shipments came in at 3.9 million net tons in the first quarter.

Cleveland-Cliffs noted it repurchased 30.4 million shares in the first quarter. The company's board also authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $1.5 billion.

Cleveland-Cliffs maintained all of its previous guidance for full-year 2024. The company still expects full-year steel shipments of 16.5 million net tons and year-over-year steel unit cost reductions of approximately $30 per net ton.

What Happened With NUE: Nucor also reported first-quarter financial results after the market close on Monday. The company reported revenue of $8.14 billion, which missed estimates of $8.26 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. Nucor reported quarterly earnings of $3.46 per share, which missed estimates of $3.65 per share. Steel shipments totaled 6.22 million net tons in the fourth quarter.

Nucor said it repurchased approximately 5.5 million shares of its common stock in the first quarter. The company’s board also declared a cash dividend of 54 cents per share, payable on May 10 to shareholders of record as of March 28.

Nucor expects earnings in the second quarter to decrease compared to the first quarter. The largest driver for the expected decrease in earnings is the decreased earnings of the steel mills segment, primarily due to lower average selling prices partially offset by modestly increased volumes. 

Cleveland-Cliffs will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. and Nucor is scheduled to hold its call at 10:00 a.m. Et.

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CLF, NUE Price Action: At publication time, Cleveland-Cliffs shares were down 2.4% at $20.35, while Nucor shares were down 6.75% at $178.70, per Benzinga Pro.

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