Why ArcelorMittal’s 4Q16 Earnings Sparked a Buying Spree

ArcelorMittal (MT), the world’s largest steelmaker, released its 4Q16 earnings on February 10, 2017. The company generated operating income of $0.8 billion in 4Q16. Its fiscal 2016 operating income is $4.2 billion. In contrast, ArcelorMittal posted an operating loss of $5.3 billion in 4Q15. ArcelorMittal’s 4Q16 earnings were better than expected.

ArcelorMittal’s 4Q16 earnings were received well by the markets. The stock closed with gains of 6.3% on February 10. Before ArcelorMittal’s earnings, its had been a subdued earnings season for steel investors (XME). Steel Dynamics (STLD) and AK Steel (AKS) both saw negative price actions after their 4Q16 earnings releases. Steel Dynamics missed consensus earnings estimates. AK Steel saw selling pressure due to weak outlook, despite beating consensus earnings estimates.

Nucor (NUE) and U.S. Steel Corporation (X) released their 4Q16 earnings on January 31, 2017. Both of these companies saw selling pressures despite posting better-than-expected earnings. Read Key Takeaways from U.S. Steel’s 4Q16 Earnings to find out more about the company’s 4Q16 financial performance.

In this series, we’ll analyze ArcelorMittal’s 4Q16 earnings. We’ll explore what drove ArcelorMittal’s 4Q16 financial performance. We’ll also see how Wall Street analysts changed their recommendations after ArcelorMittal’s 4Q16 earnings release.

Let’s start by looking at ArcelorMittal’s 4Q16 revenues in the next part of this series.