ArcelorMittal S.A.’s MT shares have surged 104.6% in the past year. The company has also outperformed the Zacks Steel – Producers industry’s 65.5% growth over the same time frame.
The rally has been driven by higher crude steel production, a recovery to more normalized production levels in North America, record iron ore production and shipments from Liberia, continued investment in higher-value electrical steel capacity and progress on the Liberia iron ore expansion project.
Let’s take a look at the factors that are driving MT stock.
ArcelorMittal produced 13.3 million metric tons of crude steel in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 3.9% increase from 12.8 million metric tons in the previous quarter. Steel shipments totaled 12.8 million metric tons during the period, supported by a return to more normalized production levels across the company’s North American operations.
The mining segment delivered solid results, with total iron ore production reaching 12.9 million metric tons. Production from ArcelorMittal Mining Canada and its Liberia operations amounted to 9.7 million metric tons, while iron ore shipments totaled 10 million metric tons. The Liberia operations achieved record quarterly production and shipment volumes.
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, MT reported cash and cash equivalents of $4.36 billion compared with $5.48 billion at the close of 2025. The decline primarily reflected seasonal working capital requirements and negative free cash flow during the quarter. Despite the lower cash balance, the company maintained a robust liquidity position, with total available liquidity of approximately $9.9 billion.
ArcelorMittal continues to expand its steelmaking capacity while increasing its focus on higher-value-added products. The company has approved plans to build a wholly owned non-grain-oriented electrical steel (NOES) manufacturing facility in Alabama. The new plant is intended to meet the growing demand for high-quality electrical steel, strengthen domestic supply and help address ongoing supply chain challenges.
As part of the project, the ArcelorMittal Calvert facility will be equipped with critical infrastructure, including an annealing pickling line, a cold-rolling mill, an annealing coating line, a packaging and slitter line and other supporting equipment required for the production of specialized electrical steel. In addition, the company remains on track with its Liberia iron ore expansion project, which is expected to achieve a full run-rate capacity of more than 20 million tons in 2026.
MT’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
MT carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are CSW Industrials, Inc. CSW, Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. IDR and Ternium S.A. TX. CSW, IDR and TX carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CSW’s current-year earnings stands at $12.52 per share, implying a 20.6% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 3.8%. Shares of the company have gone up by around 1.3% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IDR’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.52 per share, implying a 33.3% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 68.7%. Shares of IDR have surged around 58.3% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TX’s current-year earnings is pegged at $6.13 per share, indicating a 182.5% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 3.5%. Shares of SCCO have surged around 88.7% in the past year.
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ArcelorMittal (MT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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