For the quarter ended December 2024, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) reported revenue of $4.33 billion, down 15.4% over the same period last year. EPS came in at -$0.68, compared to -$0.05 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +0.27% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.31 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being -$0.65, the EPS surprise was -4.62%.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how Cleveland-Cliffs performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• External Sales Volumes- Steel Products: 3,827 Ton versus 3,819.69 Ton estimated by three analysts on average.
• Average net selling price per net ton of steel products: $976 compared to the $986.27 average estimate based on three analysts.
• Volumes - Steelmaking - Coated steel: 1,012 Ton compared to the 1,110.18 Ton average estimate based on two analysts.
• Volumes - Steelmaking - Slab and other steel products: 382 Ton compared to the 344.4 Ton average estimate based on two analysts.
• Revenues- Other Businesses: $157 million versus $154.30 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -0.6% change.
• Revenues- Steelmaking: $4.17 billion compared to the $4.23 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -15.9% year over year.
• Revenues- Steelmaking- Coated steel: $1.23 billion versus $1.38 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -18.6% change.
• Revenues- Steelmaking- Slab and other steel products: $249 million compared to the $243.21 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -20.7% year over year.
• Revenues- Steelmaking- Plate: $232 million compared to the $255.50 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -30.1% year over year.
• Revenues- Steelmaking- Other: $432 million versus $433.24 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -20% change.
• Revenues- Steelmaking- Cold-rolled steel: $581 million compared to the $606.17 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -6.3% year over year.
• Revenues- Steelmaking- Hot-rolled steel: $1.03 billion compared to the $910.07 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -7.8% year over year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Cleveland-Cliffs here>>>

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs have returned +6.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -2.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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