Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF) shares plummeted 5.04% during intraday trading on Tuesday, reflecting significant selling pressure following the release of the company's first-quarter 2026 earnings details and subsequent analyst reactions.

The sharp decline coincided with multiple investment firms lowering their price targets on the steelmaker's stock. Morgan Stanley cut its target to $12 from $16.80, while Citigroup reduced its target to $11 from $13. These downward revisions followed the company's earnings conference call, which revealed an $80 million hit to adjusted EBITDA from a first-quarter energy spike tied to extreme cold weather.

Despite reporting adjusted EBITDA of $95 million, which exceeded Wall Street expectations of approximately $92 million, investors focused on the substantial one-time energy cost impact and management's commentary about final shipments from the ArcelorMittal Calvert operation acting as a drag on results. The company's outlook for the second quarter included higher costs per ton due to outages and product mix, contributing to the negative market sentiment.