---
title: "Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Stock Soars on a Leadership Change and Earnings Beat"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/293637463.md"
description: "Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) stock surged over 18% following a leadership change and Q2 earnings beat. CFO Celso Goncalves was promoted to president while retaining his CFO role, with Lourenco Goncalves remaining CEO. The company reported adjusted EPS of -20 cents on $5.23 billion revenue, surpassing estimates. Management expects improved performance in H2 2026 and prioritizes debt reduction. Analyst consensus remains 'Hold' with an average price target of $10.88."
datetime: "2026-07-23T14:49:30.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/293637463.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293637463.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/293637463.md)
---

# Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Stock Soars on a Leadership Change and Earnings Beat

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) stock rallied over 18% on Thursday after the steel manufacturing company announced a leadership change alongside its latest earnings report. The company promoted Chief Financial Officer Celso Goncalves to president while keeping his role as CFO. It also appointed Goncalves to its board of directors, effective immediately. Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves will remain in charge of the company but will give up the title of president as part of the leadership change.

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Celso Goncalves has served as CFO since 2021 and joined Cleveland-Cliffs in 2016. The company credited him with helping improve its financial position and supporting key acquisitions that turned Cleveland-Cliffs into North America's largest flat-rolled steel producer.

"This appointment also represents the beginning of a thoughtful and deliberate leadership transition toward the future of Cleveland-Cliffs," said Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves. He added that he plans to continue leading the company for years to come while Celso's expanded role helps provide long-term leadership continuity.

## **Cleveland-Cliffs Beats Wall Street's Q2 Estimates**

Cleveland-Cliffs announced the leadership change at the same time it reported its Q2 2026 results. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of -20 cents alongside revenue of $5.23 billion. Both of these results were better than Wall Street's estimates of -21 cents per share and revenue of $5.15 billion.

Cleveland-Cliffs said that it expects the second half of 2026 to be better than the first half of the year. On top of that, the company expects its Q4 adjusted EBITDA to outperform Q3 and see further gains in 2027. Cleveland-Cliffs also told investors that reducing its debt is the company's number one priority.

## **Is Cleveland-Cliffs Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?**

Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Cleveland-Cliffs is Hold, based on seven Buy and one Sell ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average CLF stock price target of $10.88, suggesting a possible 3.06% downside for the shares. These ratings and price targets will likely change as analysts update their coverage after today's earnings report. (See **CLF Stock Forecast**)

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