CLF vs RIO: How Cleveland-Cliffs and Rio Tinto Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: RIO is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CLF and RIO share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CLF and RIO exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Cleveland-Cliffs is North America's largest flat-rolled steel producer and the largest supplier of automotive-grade steel in the United States. It is vertically integrated, owning iron ore mines and pellet operations and converting raw materials and scrap through primary steelmaking into downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing. It makes money by selling steel to automakers, service centers, infrastructure, appliance, and other industrial customers; roughly a third of output goes to the automotive sector, and Q1 2026 steelmaking revenue included ~$1.4 billion (~29%) of direct automotive sales. The company employs roughly ~25,000 people across mining, steel, and manufacturing operations in the U.S. and Canada.

Full CLF guide

Rio Tinto is a global mining group that digs, processes, and ships the raw materials behind steel, power grids, and batteries. Iron ore from its Pilbara operations in Western Australia is still the profit engine, generating the majority of earnings, while the company also produces aluminum and bauxite, copper (including from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia), and, after its 2025 acquisition of Arcadium, lithium. Its two marquee growth projects are the giant Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea, which made its first shipment in late 2025, and a lithium business it aims to scale toward 200,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2028. RIO shares are American Depositary Receipts representing the London-listed Rio Tinto plc, so U.S. investors get the same underlying economics with dollar-denominated trading.

Full RIO guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CLF drivers: U.S.-only footprint plus tariff tailwind; Integration and scale.
• RIO drivers: Iron ore scale plus Simandou; Copper growth for electrification.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Cleveland-Cliffs is one of the more cyclical and leveraged names in the steel sector. For RIO, rio's fortunes are tightly linked to iron ore prices, which hinge on Chinese steel demand and property construction, so a slowdown there hits earnings and the dividend directly.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CLF if you believe its drivers more; RIO if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CLF and RIO guides.

CLF. Cliffs is a deeply cyclical steelmaker, so trailing earnings and EBITDA reflect a trough rather than a steady run rate, and a simple P/E is not meaningful when the company is posting losses. Investors typically watch EV/EBITDA, leverage (net debt to EBITDA, recently elevated near or above 3x), and the path to positive free cash flow that management guided toward from Q2 2026. Figures are approximate, tied to the asOf date, and move with the steel cycle.

RIO. Revenue and EBITDA both grew in 2025, but reported profit slipped and net debt roughly tripled after the Arcadium lithium acquisition. Shares traded around the low-to-mid $90s at mid-2026 on a trailing P/E of roughly 15, a discount that reflects commodity-cycle risk. The full-year dividend of about $6.5 billion at a roughly 60% payout keeps the yield near 4%.

Headline figures (approximate, 2026-06-27): CLF shows revenue (ttm, approx.) ~$18-19 billion, q1 2026 revenue ~$4.9 billion, q1 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$95 million (incl. ~$80M one-time energy cost), q1 2026 gaap net loss ~$229 million (~$0.42 per diluted share); RIO shows revenue (2025) ~$57.6B, underlying ebitda (2025) ~$25.4B, underlying earnings (2025) ~$10.9B, net debt ~$14.4B.

CLF and RIO are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CLF and RIO exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.