Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Core business

North America–based steel producer focused on value-added sheet products for the automotive industry.
Vertically integrated: iron ore mining and pellet production, direct reduced iron (DRI) production, ferrous scrap processing, primary steelmaking, and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing.
Four operating segments: Steelmaking, Tubular, Tooling and Stamping, and European Operations. The primary reportable segment is Steelmaking.
Headquarters: Cleveland, Ohio. Approximately 25,000 employees across the U.S. and Canada (as of December 31, 2025).

Large, integrated footprint with internal feedstock production (iron ore, DRI/HBI, scrap) that reduces exposure to external price volatility.
Leading position in automotive-grade steel in the U.S., supported by established customer service and technical capabilities, including the Middletown Research and Innovation Center.
Domestic sourcing features such as HBI use to improve efficiency and reduce carbon intensity.
Substantial scale and multi-site operations that provide cost advantages and supply-chain control.
Deep union relationships with a large represented workforce (USW, UAW, IAM) and experienced personnel.

Increase mix of automotive and other high-value, higher-margin products; exit an unprofitable long-term slab contract (to be completed by December 9, 2025).
Optimize the integrated steelmaking footprint; idle or close underperforming facilities in 2025 to improve efficiency while preserving automotive output.
Explore strategic opportunities, including collaboration with POSCO, sale of non-core assets, and potential disposition of idled sites to deleverage and redeploy capital.
Evaluate rare earths potential at ore bodies and tailings basins to support critical material independence initiatives.
Maintain financial flexibility to manage cycles and pursue strategic actions through available liquidity and long debt maturities.

Steelmaking capacity: ~20.0 million net tons of raw steel per year; produced 18.8 million net tons in 2025 (vs. 17.7 million in 2024).
Primary steel facilities in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Ontario; seven blast furnaces and four electric-arc furnaces (with some facilities idled in 2025).
Finishing operations located on-site at integrated mills and at nine stand-alone finishing facilities.
Raw materials and energy inputs include internal iron ore mining (Minnesota and Michigan), a direct reduction plant in Toledo, Ohio (HBI), coke/coal operations, and ferrous scrap processing (FPT, 21 facilities).
- HBI capacity: 1.9 million metric tons/year.
- Coke capacity: 4.0 million net tons/year.
- Scrap processing: ~3 million net tons processed annually by FPT.
Iron ore mines (as of 12/31/2025): Northshore, Tilden, and United fully operational; Minorca and part of Hibbing idled or partially idle. Combined annual iron ore production capacity ~20.1 million long tons (Cliffs’ share varies by mine ownership).
Stelco acquisition completed November 1, 2024, expanding the company’s Canadian presence and exposure to North American spot markets.

Direct automotive: 30% (cold-rolled, galvanized, aluminized, NOES, stainless).
Infrastructure and manufacturing: 29% (hot-rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized, plate, GOES, stainless, rail).
Distributors and converters: 28% (all grades of steel via service centers and converters).
Steel producers (intermediate/other producers): 13% (raw materials such as slab, scrap, iron ore, HBI, coal, coke).
Raw material pricing: ~35–40% of flat-rolled shipments sold under fixed-price contracts; the remainder sold on spot or with variable pricing tied to steel indices.
North American light-vehicle production: ~15.3 million units in 2025; company expectations for 2026+ around or above 15 million units. Tariffs and EV trends support domestically produced steel.
2025 average U.S. hot-rolled coil (HRC) price: about $851 per net ton (vs. $772 in 2024).

Primary customers are North American automotive manufacturers, along with distributors/converters, other steel producers, and infrastructure/manufacturing end markets.

Employees: ~25,000.
Debt and liquidity (as of 12/31/2025): $6.9 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes; $452 million borrowings under the ABL Facility; cash on hand $57 million; revolver commitments total $4.75 billion; borrowing availability under the ABL Facility approximately $3.2 billion.
Environmental and sustainability capital expenditures: $66 million in 2025; expected around $71 million in 2026, with similar levels expected in 2027–2028.
Pension and OPEB: substantial retiree benefit programs, including jointly funded multiemployer pension plans; ongoing actions to reduce benefit costs and manage funding exposure.

GHG targets: reduce Scope 1+2 intensity per ton of crude steel by 30% by 2035, with a long-term objective of near net-zero by 2050. Emissions reductions achieved per ton since 2020.
Regulatory developments affect taconite, integrated iron and steel, lime, and coke sectors, along with broader climate-related air and water standards.
Ongoing environmental projects include water treatment, SO2 reduction plans in Canada, and selenium treatment, with planned capital investment.

Stelco acquisition completed in 2024, strengthening the North American footprint and cost position.
Memorandum of Understanding (Q3 2025) with POSCO for a potential strategic partnership in the U.S., subject to definitive terms and closing.
Ongoing processes to explore sale of non-core assets and idled sites, with net proceeds intended for debt reduction.
R&D and innovation efforts support automotive lightweighting with advanced high-strength steels, electrification trends, and grid/capacity needs served by GOES and NOES products.