Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026)
Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) posted Operating Margin of 5.54% for Q3 2026, up 9.85 percentage points from -4.31% a year earlier and up 6.48 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Powered by 
Analysis
Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For the trailing twelve months through Sep 30, 2026, Operating Margin at Cleveland-Cliffs was -1.40%, up 7.79 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it came in at -8.48%, down 4.51 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Operating Margin has declined for four consecutive years, with a five-year change of -5.83 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In prior years, Cleveland-Cliffs' Operating Margin was -3.98% in FY2024 (-6.97 pp), 3.00% in FY2023 (-5.44 pp), 8.43% in FY2022 (-11.19 pp) and 19.62% in FY2021 (+22.28 pp).
- The Q3 2026 figure stands as the highest quarterly Operating Margin since Q3 2023.
- On a year-over-year basis, Operating Margin has increased in each of the last five quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.15 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The strongest year-over-year quarter for Operating Margin in the past five years was Q4 2021, with a gain of 16.19 percentage points; the weakest was Q4 2022, with a drop of 24.54 percentage points.
- According to Business Quant data, Operating Margin for the three prior quarters was -0.94% (Q2 2026), -4.33% (Q1 2026) and -7.67% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rio Tinto | 166.15 Bn | 128.95 Bn | - | - |
| 2 | Southern Copper | 145.61 Bn | 120.34 Bn | 3.10 Bn | 59.94% |
| 3 | Rio Tinto | 138.54 Bn | 138.54 Bn | - | - |
| 4 | Newmont | 127.15 Bn | 92.29 Bn | 4.22 Bn | 16.03% |
| 5 | Ternium | 100.63 Bn | 93.91 Bn | - | - |
| 6 | Agnico Eagle Mines | 97.48 Bn | 92.69 Bn | - | - |
| 7 | Freeport-Mcmoran | 88.12 Bn | 72.16 Bn | 2.19 Bn | 28.50% |
| 8 | Barrick Mining | 69.35 Bn | 47.84 Bn | 2.90 Bn | 51.63% |
| 9 | Nucor | 59.10 Bn | 48.48 Bn | 2.03 Bn | 15.67% |
| 10 | Cleveland-Cliffs | 7.45 Bn | 7.20 Bn | 465.00 Mn | 5.54% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 5.54% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | -0.94% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | -4.33% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | -7.67% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | -4.31% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | -10.15% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | -11.73% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | -10.75% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | -5.71% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 0.12% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | -0.73% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | -2.31% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 5.80% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 8.07% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | -0.59% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | -3.61% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 3.31% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 13.26% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 18.37% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 20.93% |
API Access
Cleveland-Cliffs Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CLF&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "CLF", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CLF&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();