CLF vs STLD vs NUE Stock Comparison

Cleveland-Cliffs, Steel Dynamics and Nucor Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
7 wins
NUE Nucor Corp
$258.10 +4.4% 1M +86.4% 1Y
Market cap
$58.78B
P/E
20.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.10B
Div. yield
0.01%
Steel Basic Materials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Steel Dynamics leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Steel Dynamics 7, Nucor 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLFSTLDNUELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.65B $34.00B $58.78B NUE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -16.2x 17.4x 20.4x STLD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 14.1x 12.9x NUE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +26.0% +17.2% STLD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -2.4% 8.8% 8.0% STLD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.3% 14.6% 11.0% STLD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 9.8x 1.0x 0.8x NUE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% STLD
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.4% +60.3% +86.4% NUE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.3%/yr +30.7%/yr +20.3%/yr STLD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 67.3% 36.0% 31.8% NUE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 58/100 55/100 STLD

Percentile Scorecard

CLFSTLDNUE

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

AxisCLFSTLDNUE
Valuation 65 #57 of 162 67 #54 of 162 74 #43 of 162
Growth 39 #90 of 147 52 #71 of 147 51 #73 of 147
Profitability 36 #78 of 122 65 #44 of 122 65 #43 of 122
Financial Health 11 #148 of 166 37 #105 of 166 40 #100 of 166
Shareholder Returns – 67 #36 of 107 47 #57 of 107
Overall 38 58 55
  • CLF ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • STLD ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • NUE 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

PeriodCLFSTLDNUESPY
1 month +7.9%+3.1%+4.4% -1.0%
3 months +16.5%-2.3%+4.2% +2.9%
6 months +42.3%+6.5%+20.4% +6.4%
Year to date +4.6%+42.5%+58.2% +11.4%
1 year +6.4%+60.3%+86.4% +13.1%
3 years -11.2%+137.7%+75.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year -3.9%+33.5%+20.6% +21.5%
5 years -41.8%+280.4%+152.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year -10.3%+30.7%+20.3% +10.9%
10 years +131.1%+816.6%+439.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.7%+24.8%+18.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCLFSTLDNUESPY
Volatility, 1Y 67.3%36.0%31.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 71.4%36.5%32.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.141.070.90 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.091.672.72 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.4%-32.5%-48.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.0%-14.6%-6.0% -2.5%
52-week high $15.09$282.76$274.65 $779.14
52-week low $7.82$150.72$138.45 $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.

MultipleCLFSTLDNUE
P/E now vs peer median -16.8xmedian 12.7x 17.7xmedian 12.7x 20.4xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 3.1x 1.5xmedian 3.1x 1.6xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 6.9x 11.7xmedian 6.9x 11.1xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median -16.3xmedian 15.1x 31.4xmedian 15.1x 37.0xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 2.1x 3.5xmedian 2.1x 2.5xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.35median 0.27 -3.18median 0.27 -1.19median 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 monthsCLFSTLDNUE
Revenue $20.07B $22.22B $36.10B
Gross profit $309.00M $3.53B $5.59B
Operating income -$282.00M $2.56B $4.17B
Net income -$460.00M $1.95B $3.26B
Free cash flow -$485.00M $1.09B $1.58B
EPS (diluted) $-0.82 $13.58 $12.62
Cash & equivalents $77.00M $928.56M $2.48B
Total debt $7.65B $4.20B $28.20B
Shares (diluted) 574.00M 143.62M 228.50M
Enterprise value $7.40B $30.81B $48.16B

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
MetricCLFSTLDNUE
P/E -16.8x 17.7x 20.4x
P/FCF -16.3x 31.4x 37.0x
P/Operating cash flow 68.3x 20.3x 13.2x
P/S 0.4x 1.5x 1.6x
P/B 1.3x 3.5x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 3.6x 2.9x
EV/EBITDA 20.1x 11.7x 11.1x
EV/EBIT -54.9x 14.7x 15.1x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 1.7x 1.7x
EV/FCF -31.9x 34.3x 39.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 133.6x 22.2x 14.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.35 -3.18 -1.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLFSTLDNUE
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 26.0% 17.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.9% 4.6% -1.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 133.3% 53.3% 73.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -35.7% -6.4% -16.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 83.5% 82.1% 94.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -35.2% -9.0% -18.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 72.7% 72.3% 106.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -48.0% -10.0% -18.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 75.7% 77.0% 124.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -47.9% -5.6% -17.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 112.6% 11.2% 41.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -61.9% -23.6% -19.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.6% 252.0% 511.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -32.9% -22.1% -37.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLFSTLDNUE
Gross margin 1.5% 15.9% 15.5%
EBITDA margin 3.8% 14.4% 15.7%
Operating margin -1.4% 11.5% 11.5%
Pretax margin -3.4% 11.2% 11.4%
Net margin -2.4% 8.8% 8.0%
FCF margin -2.4% 4.9% 4.4%
Operating cash flow margin 0.6% 7.6% 12.3%
Return on equity -7.3% 20.5% 14.2%
Return on assets -2.1% 11.2% 9.0%
Return on invested capital -1.3% 14.6% 11.0%
Return on capital employed -1.7% 17.1% 13.4%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.3x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.3x 0.9x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.3% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLFSTLDNUE
Debt / assets 37.6% 23.6% 19.2%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.4x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 9.8x 1.0x 0.8x
Debt / FCF -15.8x 3.8x 4.5x
Liabilities / assets 70.7% 44.8% 37.0%
Equity / assets 29.3% 55.2% 63.0%
Interest coverage – 18.4x 28.7x
Current ratio 1.9x 3.1x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.4x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 1.41 6.02 5.43

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLFSTLDNUE
Dividend yield – 0.9% 0.9%
Net buyback yield – 2.4% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 3.3% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 15.3% 15.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 27.2% 32.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.4% -0.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.4% -0.6%

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.

ConsensusCLFSTLDNUE
Forward P/E – 14.1xFY2026 12.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.15FY2026 $17.14FY2026 $20.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +114.5%FY2026 +159.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +19.7% +6.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.05BFY2026 $22.75BFY2026 $39.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.5%FY2026 +25.2%FY2026 +22.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.9% +15.4% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLFSTLDNUE
Held by institutions 83.1% 82.7% 79.2%
Institutions holding 583 1,022 1,541
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +1.2% +2.2%
Institutions buying 279 501 751
Institutions selling 191 370 516
Buyers to sellers 1.46 1.35 1.46

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.

CLFSTLDNUE
CLF 1.00 0.61 0.60
STLD 0.61 1.00 0.88
NUE 0.60 0.88 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLF, STLD and NUE?

Nucor (NUE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) $7.65B, Steel Dynamics (STLD) $34.00B, Nucor (NUE) $58.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLF, STLD and NUE?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -16.2x, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 17.4x, Nucor (NUE) 20.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nucor (NUE) is cheapest (Steel Dynamics (STLD) 14.1x, Nucor (NUE) 12.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

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%, Nucor (NUE) +17.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) has the highest net margin (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -2.4%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 8.8%, Nucor (NUE) 8.0%). On return on invested capital, Steel Dynamics (STLD) leads (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -1.3%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 14.6%, Nucor (NUE) 11.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nucor (NUE) returned the most: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) +6.4%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +60.3%, Nucor (NUE) +86.4%. Over five years, Steel Dynamics (STLD) compounded fastest (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -10.3%/yr, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +30.7%/yr, Nucor (NUE) +20.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) has the highest dividend yield: Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) 0.00%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 0.01%, Nucor (NUE) 0.01%. Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nucor (NUE) has been the steadiest (Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) 67.3%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 36.0%, Nucor (NUE) 31.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.