CLF vs RTNTF vs STLD Stock Comparison

Cleveland-Cliffs, Rio Tinto and Steel Dynamics Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RTNTF Rio Tinto Ltd
$101.00 -11.9% 1M +18.8% 1Y
Market cap
$164.02B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Iron Ore Basic Materials
2 wins
STLD Steel Dynamics Inc
$241.53 +3.1% 1M +60.3% 1Y
Market cap
$34.00B
P/E
17.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$22.22B
Div. yield
0.01%
Steel Basic Materials
8 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Steel Dynamics leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Steel Dynamics 8, Rio Tinto 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLFRTNTFSTLDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.65B $164.02B $34.00B RTNTF
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -16.2x — 17.4x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 12.1x 14.1x RTNTF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% — +26.0% STLD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -2.4% — 8.8% STLD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.3% — 14.6% STLD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 9.8x — 1.0x STLD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.4% +18.8% +60.3% STLD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.3%/yr +7.6%/yr +30.7%/yr STLD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 67.3% 45.3% 36.0% STLD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 — 58/100 STLD

Percentile Scorecard

CLFRTNTFSTLD

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCLFRTNTFSTLD
Valuation 65 #57 of 162 – 67 #54 of 162
Growth 39 #90 of 147 – 52 #71 of 147
Profitability 36 #78 of 122 – 65 #44 of 122
Financial Health 11 #148 of 166 27 #122 of 166 37 #105 of 166
Shareholder Returns – – 67 #36 of 107
Overall 38 – 58
  • CLF ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • RTNTF ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • STLD ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCLFRTNTFSTLDSPY
1 month +7.9%-11.9%+3.1% -1.0%
3 months +16.5%-5.9%-2.3% +2.9%
6 months +42.3%-20.2%+6.5% +6.4%
Year to date +4.6%+2.1%+42.5% +11.4%
1 year +6.4%+18.8%+60.3% +13.1%
3 years -11.2%+38.0%+137.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year -3.9%+11.3%+33.5% +21.5%
5 years -41.8%+44.3%+280.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year -10.3%+7.6%+30.7% +10.9%
10 years +131.1%+159.9%+816.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.7%+10.0%+24.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCLFRTNTFSTLDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 67.3%45.3%36.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 71.4%66.0%36.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.140.881.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.090.421.67 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.4%-41.4%-32.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.0%-24.3%-14.6% -2.5%
52-week high $15.09$133.44$282.76 $779.14
52-week low $7.82$81.39$150.72 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCLFRTNTFSTLD
P/E now vs peer median -16.8xmedian 12.7x —median 12.7x 17.7xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 3.1x —median 3.1x 1.5xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 6.9x —median 6.9x 11.7xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median -16.3xmedian 15.1x —median 15.1x 31.4xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 2.1x 2.3xmedian 2.1x 3.5xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.35median 0.27 —median 0.27 -3.18median 0.27

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCLFRTNTFSTLD
Revenue $20.07B – $22.22B
Gross profit $309.00M – $3.53B
Operating income -$282.00M – $2.56B
Net income -$460.00M – $1.95B
Free cash flow -$485.00M – $1.09B
EPS (diluted) $-0.82 – $13.58
Cash & equivalents $77.00M $8.91B $928.56M
Total debt $7.65B $78.67B $4.20B
Shares (diluted) 574.00M 1.64B 143.62M
Enterprise value $7.40B $133.06B $30.81B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCLFRTNTFSTLD
P/E -16.8x – 17.7x
P/FCF -16.3x – 31.4x
P/Operating cash flow 68.3x – 20.3x
P/S 0.4x – 1.5x
P/B 1.3x 2.3x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 2.5x 3.6x
EV/EBITDA 20.1x – 11.7x
EV/EBIT -54.9x – 14.7x
EV/Revenue 0.8x – 1.7x
EV/FCF -31.9x – 34.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 133.6x – 22.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.35 – -3.18

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLFRTNTFSTLD
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% – 26.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.9% – 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 133.3% – 53.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -35.7% – -6.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 83.5% – 82.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -35.2% – -9.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 72.7% – 72.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -48.0% – -10.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 75.7% – 77.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -47.9% – -5.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 112.6% – 11.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -61.9% – -23.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.6% – 252.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -32.9% – -22.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLFRTNTFSTLD
Gross margin 1.5% – 15.9%
EBITDA margin 3.8% – 14.4%
Operating margin -1.4% – 11.5%
Pretax margin -3.4% – 11.2%
Net margin -2.4% – 8.8%
FCF margin -2.4% – 4.9%
Operating cash flow margin 0.6% – 7.6%
Return on equity -7.3% – 20.5%
Return on assets -2.1% – 11.2%
Return on invested capital -1.3% – 14.6%
Return on capital employed -1.7% – 17.1%
Asset turnover 1.0x – 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.3x – 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLFRTNTFSTLD
Debt / assets 37.6% 16.3% 23.6%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.3x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 9.8x – 1.0x
Debt / FCF -15.8x – 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 70.7% 46.3% 44.8%
Equity / assets 29.3% 53.7% 55.2%
Interest coverage – – 18.4x
Current ratio 1.9x 1.4x 3.1x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.9x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.6x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.41 – 6.02

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLFRTNTFSTLD
Dividend yield – – 0.9%
Net buyback yield – – 2.4%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 15.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 27.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 4.4%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCLFRTNTFSTLD
Forward P/E – 12.1xFY2026 14.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.15FY2026 $8.33FY2026 $17.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +24.5%FY2026 +114.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -3.7% +19.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.05BFY2026 $66.06BFY2026 $22.75BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.5%FY2026 +14.6%FY2026 +25.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.9% -4.0% +15.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLFRTNTFSTLD
Held by institutions 83.1% – 82.7%
Institutions holding 583 – 1,022
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% – +1.2%
Institutions buying 279 – 501
Institutions selling 191 – 370
Buyers to sellers 1.46 – 1.35

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CLFRTNTFSTLD
CLF 1.00 0.17 0.61
RTNTF 0.17 1.00 0.25
STLD 0.61 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLF, RTNTF and STLD?

Rio Tinto (RTNTF) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) $7.65B, Rio Tinto (RTNTF) $164.02B, Steel Dynamics (STLD) $34.00B.

Which company is growing faster?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) +7.8%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +26.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) has the highest net margin (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -2.4%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 8.8%). On return on invested capital, Steel Dynamics (STLD) leads (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -1.3%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 14.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Steel Dynamics (STLD) returned the most: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) +6.4%, Rio Tinto (RTNTF) +18.8%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +60.3%. Over five years, Steel Dynamics (STLD) compounded fastest (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -10.3%/yr, Rio Tinto (RTNTF) +7.6%/yr, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +30.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) 0.00%, Rio Tinto (RTNTF) 0.00%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 0.01%. Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) and Rio Tinto (RTNTF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steel Dynamics (STLD) has been the steadiest (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) 67.3%, Rio Tinto (RTNTF) 45.3%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 36.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLF, RTNTF and STLD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Steel Dynamics (STLD) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.