ArcelorMittal Rises 41% in 6 Months: What's Driving the Stock?

ArcelorMittal S.A.’s MT shares have surged 41.1% in the past six months. The company has also outperformed the Zacks Steel - Producers industry’s 31.7% growth over the same time frame. The rally has been driven by its forecast-topping earnings, higher steel and iron ore production, record iron ore shipments from Liberia and strong liquidity. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchLet’s take a look at the factors that are driving MT stock. Solid Q1 Performance, Business Expansion Aid MT’s RallyArcelorMittal produced 13.3 million metric tons of crude steel in the first quarter of 2026, up 3.9% from 12.8 million metric tons in the prior quarter. Steel shipments totaled 12.8 million metric tons during the quarter. The company’s operations benefited from a return to more normalized production levels in North America.The mining segment delivered a strong performance, with total iron ore production reaching 12.9 million metric tons. Iron ore production from ArcelorMittal Mining Canada and Liberia operations totaled 9.7 million metric tons, while shipments reached 10 million metric tons. Liberia achieved record iron ore production and shipment volumes during the quarter.ArcelorMittal ended the first quarter of 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $4.36 billion, down from $5.48 billion at the end of 2025. The decline was primarily due to seasonal working capital requirements and negative free cash flow during the quarter. Despite the reduction in cash balances, the company maintained a strong liquidity position, supported by total available liquidity of approximately $9.9 billion.MT is expanding its steel-making capacity and focusing on shifting to high-added-value products. ArcelorMittal has decided to move forward with plans to establish a fully owned non-grain-oriented electrical steel (NOES) manufacturing facility in Alabama. This new plant aims to meet the rising demand for high-quality electrical steel while supporting manufacturers with a reliable domestic supply and addressing supply chain challenges. As part of this initiative, the ArcelorMittal Calvert plant will incorporate key infrastructure, including an annealing pickling line, a cold-rolling mill, an annealing coating line, a packaging and slitter line and other essential ancillary equipment required for specialized electrical steel production. The company also remains on course with its Liberia iron ore expansion project, which is expected to reach full run-rate capacity beyond 20 million tons in 2026. MT’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksMT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Nucor Corporation NUE, L.B. Foster Company FSTR and Albemarle Corporation ALB. NUE, FSTR and ALB carry a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE’s current-year earnings stands at $15.68 per share, implying a 103.4% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average surprise being 8.1%. Shares of the company have surged around 48% in the past six months.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSTR’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.74 per share, implying a 152.2% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in one of the trailing four quarters and missed thrice, with the average surprise being 3.62%. Shares of FSTR have surged around 55.2% in the past six months.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB’s current-year earnings is pegged at $12.39 per share, indicating a 1,668.4% 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 74.5%. Shares of ALB have gained around 5.5% in the past six months. Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks