** Shares of steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs CLF.N drop 17% to $7.05 early Thurs after Q1 loss exceeds Wall Street's expectations

** CLF shares could suffer biggest one-day pct drop since the pandemic onset in 2020, if decline exceeds 16.8% plunge on Apr 3, 2025

** Co late Weds posted adj loss/sh of 92 cents vs analysts' estimated loss of 77 cents, per LSEG data

** CEO Lourenco Goncalves said Q1 results negatively impacted by underperforming non-core assets and lagging effect of lower index prices in late 2024 and 2025

** Between Mar and May, co said it is fully or partially idling six facilities to optimize its footprint, reposition away from loss-making operations

** It expects the actions to result in over $300 mln in savings, not including additional savings in overhead and improved productivity at other locations, co said

** Rev in qtr fell to $4.63 bln from $5.2 bln a year ago, but was inline with Street

** With move on Thurs, stock down ~25% YTD vs 4% advance for S&P 1500 Steel index .SPCOMSTEEL

** Of 14 analysts covering CLF, recommendation breakdown is 6 "strong buy" or "buy", 6 "hold" and 2 "sell" or "strong sell" ratings; median PT is $11 - LSEG

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))