Forensic Analysis · Other Metal Mining · as of Nov 9, 2026

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF)

A forensic read on Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

D · Weak — demands caution

Forensic grade

Distress

Financial health

0.9

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

-23.2%

ROE

-3.0%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 0.9, placing it in the Distress zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.

What the filings flag

-7.3%

FY2025

Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is -7.3% in the latest fiscal year and slipping across FY2023–FY2025 from 3.6%. After-tax operating profit was $495M in FY2023 and ($1.2B) in FY2025, with operating income at 3.0% of revenue in FY2023, -4.0% in FY2024 and -8.5% in FY2025. The capital base behind it grew +24% across FY2023–FY2025, from $13.8B to $17.1B, while the return fell 10.9 points, so the dollars added over that window earned less than the 3.6% the older base was already earning.

stopped

FY2024→FY2025

Shareholder returns — halted. Capital returns have STOPPED — $733M of buybacks + dividends in FY2024, but ~$0 in FY2025. A halt usually means the company is conserving cash.

$125M

FY2023

Goodwill impairments. Took $125M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2023 ($125M)) — about 32% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$18.61B

Revenue Growth YoY-3.0%

Revenue CAGR (2yr)-8.0%

Net Margin-7.9%

Free Cash Flow-$1.02B

Return on Equity-23.2%

Debt / Equity1.19x

The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?

Generate the AI investment read →

No credit card · informational only, not investment advice · see the track record

← Browse all forensic stock analyses

Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

See a wrong number? Report an error with the filing it should match.