R&B singer Nivea has revealed that she is battling leukemia, sharing details of her diagnosis and treatment during a recent interview while expressing deep gratitude for the perspective the experience has given her.

The 44-year-old performer, known for her early 2000s hits, disclosed the news on the “Cadillac Chronicles” interview series. When asked what she was thankful for at the moment, she responded candidly about her health journey.

“I was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year, and I am so grateful to God,” she said. “I’ve been going through treatment and everything is going great so far. And I expect it to continue. Amen. Amen. Amen. And I’m very grateful for life. It’s so cliché to say, you know, you don’t know the time nor the hour, and it’s true.”

Nivea, whose full name is Nivea B. Hamilton, noted that the diagnosis shifted her outlook significantly. “It just helped me put a lot of things in perspective,” she added. “And I live in gratitude like religiously, and I’m just grateful for everything. I’m doing things I want to do. I’m definitely back into my music.”

She also shared that she has returned to school to study audio engineering, a longtime interest. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to engineer, and mix and engineer in particular,” she said. “But, in general, just doing all the things, honey. Loving all my children and just being grateful. Taking every opportunity that comes my way.”

When asked about the biggest lesson she has learned, Nivea emphasized presence and appreciation. “Definitely don’t take anything for granted,” she said. “Like, I definitely lived in my younger years. The days just flew by, and I was just doing what I was doing. I don’t know. It’s kind of like you don’t recognize the short time that we do have here, and how everything is … I’ve always noticed the beauty in everything, though, I will say that. But, to be more present in the moment is definitely something I’ve learned. This time will never occur again. Being more present in the moment. Counting the blessings. Being more grateful.”

She continued by discussing the power of focus and positivity. “The universe or God or whatever you want to call it, your brain will find the things you focus on,” she said. “You know where the mind goes energy goes. So I just try to think of positive things. I’m a very optimistic person.”

Nivea rose to prominence in the early 2000s with her self-titled debut album released in 2002. Her single “Don’t Mess with My Man” earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance in 2003. She has released four albums in total, with her most recent being “Mirrors” in 2019.

Fans and supporters have responded with messages of encouragement following the revelation. Many recalled her previous health challenges, including a postpartum stroke she experienced years earlier, and praised her resilience and continued creative pursuits.

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming tissues that can affect people of various ages. Treatment approaches often include chemotherapy, targeted therapies or other medical interventions depending on the specific type and stage. Nivea indicated her treatment has progressed positively so far and expressed optimism about continued improvement.

In the interview, the singer repeatedly returned to themes of faith and gratitude. She framed the diagnosis not solely as a medical challenge but as a catalyst for living more intentionally and pursuing long-held goals such as music production skills.

Nivea’s career has spanned more than two decades, with her early work establishing her as a notable voice in contemporary R&B. Beyond recording, she has remained connected to music through performances and personal projects. Her decision to study audio engineering reflects a desire to expand her role behind the console as well as in front of the microphone.

The timing of the public disclosure comes as she continues treatment while balancing family life and creative ambitions. She spoke warmly about her children and the importance of seizing opportunities, suggesting a renewed sense of purpose.

Music industry observers noted that artists often share health journeys to raise awareness and connect with fans on a human level. Nivea’s openness aligns with a broader trend of public figures discussing medical challenges candidly.

Her comments about living in the present and avoiding complacency resonated with many who have followed her career. The singer acknowledged that time can pass quickly during periods of activity and success, and that intentional presence requires deliberate effort.

Nivea’s story also highlights the role of spiritual practice for some individuals facing serious illness. She repeatedly credited God for her progress and expressed repeated affirmations of gratitude and expectation for continued positive outcomes.

As she continues treatment, Nivea appears focused on both recovery and personal growth. Her return to music and enrollment in audio engineering courses suggest an active approach to the future rather than a pause.

Supporters have encouraged her publicly, revisiting her catalog of songs and celebrating her determination. The response underscores the connection many fans feel with artists who share vulnerable moments.

Leukemia awareness efforts often emphasize early detection and the importance of medical care. While Nivea did not detail specific symptoms or the precise form of the disease, her willingness to discuss the diagnosis may prompt conversations among listeners about health monitoring.

In the interview, she balanced realism about the uncertainty of life with a clear sense of optimism. The repeated “Amen” and statements of gratitude framed her outlook as one rooted in faith and expectation of positive results.

Nivea’s career trajectory includes both commercial success and periods of relative quiet. Her 2019 album “Mirrors” marked a later chapter, and recent comments indicate she is re-engaging with creative work amid her health management.

Family remains a central theme in her reflections. Mentions of loving her children and prioritizing meaningful experiences suggest that personal relationships have taken on heightened importance.

The broader context of her revelation includes the physical and emotional demands of cancer treatment. Many patients describe shifts in priorities, relationships and daily routines. Nivea’s account aligns with those common experiences while remaining distinctly personal.

She has not indicated any interruption in her long-term plans. Instead, the diagnosis appears to have accelerated certain pursuits, including formal training in engineering skills she had long desired.

Industry colleagues and fellow artists have in the past offered support during similar disclosures. While specific statements from peers were not detailed in the initial interview, the overall response from the public has been one of solidarity.

Nivea’s emphasis on positivity and mental focus reflects practices many people adopt during difficult periods. She described intentionally directing her thoughts toward constructive and hopeful outcomes.

As treatment continues, updates on her progress will likely be of interest to fans who have followed her career. For now, her message centers on gratitude, faith and living intentionally.

The singer’s openness provides a window into how one public figure is navigating a serious diagnosis while maintaining creative and personal goals. Her words underscore both the challenges and the potential for renewed purpose that can accompany such experiences.

Nivea’s story continues to unfold as she balances medical care with music, education and family. The perspective she described—valuing presence, counting blessings and maintaining optimism—remains central to the account she shared.

Fans and observers will continue to follow her journey with interest and support. Her early hits introduced her to a wide audience, and her current reflections offer a more personal dimension to her public presence.

In speaking about the diagnosis, Nivea chose language of gratitude and expectation rather than solely focusing on difficulty. That framing has defined the public conversation around her revelation.

The interview captured a moment of vulnerability paired with resilience. As she continues treatment and creative work, her emphasis on living fully in the present serves as a consistent theme.

Nivea’s career and personal narrative now include this chapter of health management and personal growth. The response from listeners reflects appreciation for her candor and determination.

Free agent wide receiver Tyreek Hill said in a new rehabilitation video posted Wednesday that he still lacks strength in his surgically repaired left leg, roughly 10 months after suffering a dislocated knee and multiple torn ligaments that ended his 2025 season and, so far, kept him off any NFL roster.

Hill, 32, shared the update in a video posted to his YouTube channel, offering fans and prospective teams their most direct look yet at where his recovery stands as NFL training camps begin opening around the league this week.

What Hill said about his recovery

Hill described his current physical state in blunt terms. “So it’s about 10 months after doing two surgeries,” Hill said in the video. “My left leg is the one that I injured. I have no power in my left leg at all, so I’m trying to regain all the power back in my left leg. But it’s one day at a time.”

He detailed the specific rehabilitation work he has been doing to rebuild strength in the injured leg. “I’ve been activating the quads, the glutes, the hamstrings, the calves. I’ve been doing all the stability work, all the mobility work I need to get my knee back right,” Hill said. Despite the lack of power he described, Hill struck an optimistic tone about his overall progress, declining to commit to a specific timetable for a return. “I ain’t going to tell you what my timeline is, but timeline looking real good right now, man,” he said.

How the injury happened

Hill dislocated and tore multiple ligaments in his left knee, including his ACL and LCL, during the Miami Dolphins’ 27-21 win over the New York Jets on Sept. 29, 2025. He underwent surgery the following day and later had an additional procedure on his LCL this past February. Hill said doctors initially told him he “might not be able to walk again” following the injury, underscoring the severity of the damage even as he now works to regain strength and mobility.

In the video, Hill is shown performing a range of exercises as part of his rehabilitation, including work in a swimming pool, resistance band training, and some light running and jumping on turf and a basketball court, activities that suggest continued progress even as he says explosive power in the leg has not yet returned.

A free agent since February

Miami released Hill in February after four seasons with the franchise, making him a free agent for the first time in his career. He had appeared in just four games during the 2025 season before the injury, recording 21 catches for 265 yards and one touchdown. As of this week, no team has signed Hill, and there has been no strong indication throughout the offseason that any franchise is close to doing so, given the uncertainty surrounding his recovery timeline and long-term explosiveness following such a severe injury.

Medical experts following Hill’s situation have offered a cautious outlook on his prospects for a full return to his prior form. Dr. David Chao, founder of Sports Injury Central and a former team physician for the San Diego Chargers, noted the severity of the type of injury Hill suffered when assessing his outlook, pointing to the case of NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who missed a year and a half after dislocating his knee. Chao noted that Hill’s injury involved more than just a torn ACL, reflecting the broader ligament damage that has complicated his recovery.

A decorated career, now in question

Hill enters this uncertain stretch of his career as one of the most accomplished wide receivers of his generation. Since entering the NFL in 2016, he ranks second among all wide receivers in career receiving yards with 11,363, third in touchdowns with 83, and fifth in receptions with 819. He has earned eight Pro Bowl selections and was named First Team All-Pro five times across his 10 NFL seasons split between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dolphins. Hill also won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs during the 2019 season.

His best individual season came in 2023, his second year in Miami, when he led the entire NFL in both receiving yards, with 1,799, and receiving touchdowns, with 13, cementing his reputation as one of the league’s most explosive offensive weapons before last season’s injury.

A message of gratitude

Hill closed his video update by thanking the medical staff who have supported him throughout his recovery process. “Shout out to all the doctors I’ve seen. Shout out to the Miami Dolphins training crew,” he said. “They’ve been great. Everybody has been great throughout this process.”

With NFL teams beginning to report for training camp this week, Hill’s continued free agency, and the uncertainty surrounding when, or whether, he will regain the explosive speed that defined his career, leaves his football future genuinely in question heading into the 2026 season. While Hill’s own comments suggest cautious optimism about his overall trajectory, his acknowledgment that he still lacks power in his surgically repaired leg 10 months post-injury indicates that any potential return to an NFL roster, let alone a return to his prior level of play, remains, by his own account, still some distance away.

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From breakthrough products and inspiring leadership to marketing disasters and strategic own goals, a panel of business leaders choose the winners and losers from the last 12 months in business. Evan Davis hosts The Bottom Line’s unofficial annual awards, where the only prizes are the praise or pillory of the judges.

Guests:
Nicola Hodson, Deputy President, techUK
Peter Bazalgette, former Chair, ITV
Edwina Dunn, Co-founder, dunnhumby

Production team:
Presenter: Evan Davis
Producers: Sally Abrahams and Nick Holland
Sound engineers: Dave O’Neill and Tim Heffer
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that Midwest Poultry Services is voluntarily recalling nearly 1.6 million dozen eggs produced in Texas after environmental testing raised concerns the products could be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis, a bacterium that can cause serious foodborne illness.

The recall covers 1,589,577 dozen white shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs, sold under multiple retail brands including Kroger, Simple Truth, Brookshire’s, Country Morning and Sunups, across six states in the South and Southwest.

How the contamination was discovered

Midwest Poultry Services said the potential contamination was identified through proactive environmental monitoring and a subsequent root cause analysis at two of its Texas farms. The company has since halted shipments of fresh eggs originating from those specific facilities, though it emphasized that no other Midwest Poultry Services products are affected by the recall.

As of the announcement, no illnesses had been reported in connection with the recalled eggs, according to both the company and the FDA.

Where the recalled eggs were sold

The affected eggs were produced between June 6 and July 3, 2026, and carry sell-by or best-by dates ranging from July 20 through Aug. 17, 2026. They were distributed to foodservice and retail customers across Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and were specifically available at Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana, as well as Brookshire Grocery stores across a wider footprint spanning Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi. The eggs were also sold through a number of smaller regional retail outlets.

How to identify recalled cartons

Consumers can identify affected cartons by checking for a specific identifying code printed in date-coding ink on the left or right side of the carton. Only cartons bearing the code P-1950 or 0840962, combined with a Julian Date falling between 157 and 184, are subject to the recall. Midwest Poultry Services has urged anyone who purchased eggs matching those codes not to consume them, and instead to discard the product or return it to the store of purchase for a full refund.

What Salmonella Enteritidis can cause

Salmonella Enteritidis is a bacterium capable of living on both the exterior and interior of eggs, and can cause a foodborne illness known as salmonellosis when contaminated eggs are eaten raw or undercooked. According to health officials, symptoms typically include cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, chills, fever and, in some cases, headache, generally appearing within 12 to 72 hours after exposure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted separately that salmonella infections can sometimes cause bloody diarrhea, with symptoms developing anywhere from six hours to six days after exposure.

Midwest Poultry Services said the infection poses a heightened risk to certain groups, including young children, elderly individuals and people with weakened immune systems, for whom the illness can occasionally become more serious. In rare instances, the company noted, the infection can spread into the bloodstream, resulting in more severe medical complications.

Response from retailers and the company

Midwest Poultry Services and Kroger did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours following the recall announcement, according to Reuters, while Brookshire Grocery could not be immediately reached. Consumers with questions about the recall have been directed to contact Midwest Poultry Services directly for further information.

A notable disclosure discrepancy

Coverage of the recall from different outlets has varied slightly in describing which states received the affected eggs at the retail level. The FDA’s own statement specified that the recalled eggs were available at Kroger locations in Texas and Louisiana, and Brookshire Grocery stores in states including Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi, while the company’s own recall notice detailed a broader six-state distribution footprint for Brookshire Grocery specifically, spanning Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi. Consumers in any of those states who purchased shell eggs from the listed retailers are encouraged to check their cartons against the identifying codes regardless of which specific state-by-state breakdown they encounter.

Part of a broader pattern of recent recalls

This week’s recall adds to a string of food safety alerts issued in recent weeks, including a separate recall of an allergy medication over cross-contamination concerns and a recall of children’s organic fruit puree pouches due to a packaging defect. Egg-specific recalls tied to Salmonella contamination have also occurred periodically in past years, including a notable 2024 outbreak linked to Wisconsin-based Milo’s Poultry Farms that sickened more than 60 people across nine states after environmental testing at that company’s facilities also came back positive for the bacterium.

What consumers should do

Health officials advise consumers to check any egg cartons purchased from the listed retailers against the specific product codes and date ranges outlined in the recall notice. Eggs matching the recalled codes should not be eaten and should either be discarded or returned to the place of purchase for a refund. Anyone who has already consumed recalled eggs and is experiencing symptoms consistent with salmonella infection, including persistent fever, diarrhea or vomiting, is advised to contact a healthcare provider, particularly if they fall into a higher-risk group such as young children, older adults or individuals with compromised immune systems.

As of Thursday, Midwest Poultry Services had not disclosed the specific cause of the contamination at its two affected Texas farms, and the FDA has not indicated whether the recall could expand to include additional production sites or brands. The agency, along with the company, is expected to continue monitoring the situation and to issue updates if additional information about the source of the contamination or any related illnesses emerges in the coming days.

Xbox Network, formerly known as Xbox Live, was among the services affected by a widespread Microsoft outage Thursday, with players reporting problems signing in and connecting to online games as part of a broader disruption spanning much of Microsoft’s product lineup.

Outage-tracking service Downdetector said user reports indicating problems with Xbox Network began climbing at 12:16 p.m. Eastern time, with the hashtag #XboxNetworkXboxLiveDown circulating on social media shortly after as affected players sought to determine the scope of the issue.

Part of a much larger Microsoft outage

Thursday’s Xbox Network reports came roughly 90 minutes after a broader Microsoft 365 outage began disrupting access to a wide range of the company’s products. According to Downdetector, complaints about Microsoft’s core services began surging just after 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, eventually affecting Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Copilot, Azure, the Microsoft Store, OpenAI and Xbox Live, among other services.

Microsoft acknowledged the disruption on social media platform X at 11:24 a.m. Eastern time. “We’re investigating reports of issues with Microsoft 365 services,” the company posted, without specifically naming Xbox Network in that initial statement even as outage reports for the gaming service climbed in the following hour.

What Xbox players reported

Players affected by Thursday’s disruption described being unable to connect to Xbox’s servers across multiple games, according to reports collected by outage-tracking service StatusGator. Some users reported the issue extended beyond Xbox consoles themselves, saying they encountered the same connection problems when attempting to use Xbox Cloud Gaming on mobile devices, suggesting the outage was tied to backend account and sign-in infrastructure shared across Xbox’s various platforms rather than an issue isolated to any single device type.

Because Xbox Network handles core account functions, including sign-ins, multiplayer connectivity and digital purchases, an outage affecting that underlying service can prevent players from accessing not just online multiplayer games but, in some cases, offline single-player titles that still require an initial network authentication check before launching.

A history of Xbox-specific outages

Thursday’s disruption adds to a pattern of periodic Xbox Network outages over the past several years. The service experienced a particularly severe, nearly seven-hour global outage in July 2024, during which players in multiple countries, including the United States, Brazil, Japan and France, were unable to sign in or play games, even titles not typically requiring an internet connection. That earlier outage peaked at roughly 38,000 Downdetector reports before Microsoft resolved the issue and restored full service.

More recently, Xbox Network experienced another round of sign-in and game-launch problems in June of this year, with users reporting server connection errors despite their consoles showing an active internet connection. That earlier June disruption, like Thursday’s outage, was also tracked primarily through user reports on Downdetector rather than an immediate, detailed public acknowledgment from Microsoft.

How today’s outage compares

As of early Thursday afternoon, Xbox-specific outage reports appeared more limited in scale than the 2024 incident, with Downdetector recording roughly 2,256 views on its social media post about the Xbox disruption as of 12:16 p.m., a smaller initial signal compared with past major Xbox-specific outages, though report volume can shift quickly as more users become aware of and begin reporting an issue.

Independent monitoring services offered a mixed picture of the outage’s severity. UptimeRobot’s automated status checks, run periodically throughout the day, did not detect unusual response times or error codes from Xbox’s core web infrastructure as of mid-afternoon, while StatusGator’s crowdsourced tracking showed Xbox Live services as officially “operational” even as it continued to log a small but elevated number of user-submitted outage reports.

That discrepancy is not unusual during a distributed outage: automated uptime checks against a company’s public-facing website often continue functioning normally even when a related backend service, such as user authentication or account sign-in, is experiencing problems that only become apparent to users actively trying to log in or launch a game.

Why this outage may be connected to the broader Microsoft disruption

Given that Thursday’s Xbox Network reports emerged in the same window as Microsoft’s much larger 365 outage, and that Microsoft’s own Downdetector-tracked services list explicitly included Xbox Live among the affected products, it appears likely that the Xbox issues stemmed from the same underlying infrastructure problem affecting Microsoft’s broader cloud and identity services, rather than representing a separate, unrelated Xbox-specific failure. Microsoft has not issued a statement specifically addressing Xbox Network’s role within the broader outage as of Thursday afternoon.

What Microsoft has said so far

Beyond its initial 11:24 a.m. acknowledgment on X, Microsoft directed system administrators to a specific incident number, MO1437424, within the Microsoft 365 admin center for updates on the broader outage. The company’s Service Health Status page showed a status of “service degradation” for Microsoft 365 as of Thursday morning, though Microsoft had not disclosed a specific cause or expected resolution time for the disruption as a whole, including its apparent impact on Xbox Network.

What affected players can do

Xbox players experiencing sign-in or connectivity issues are generally advised to check Xbox’s official support channels and status page for updates, since there is typically little an individual user can do to resolve a server-side outage independently. Some players affected by past Xbox outages have found temporary workarounds, such as manually switching their console to offline mode to access certain offline-capable content, though such workarounds do not restore full online functionality and are not guaranteed to work consistently across different games or account configurations.

As of Thursday afternoon, it remained unclear how long the Xbox Network disruption, or the broader Microsoft 365 outage it appears connected to, would continue. Based on the pattern of Microsoft’s past large-scale outages, a formal resolution and status update is typically expected only once the company’s engineering teams have identified and addressed the underlying technical issue, a process that has taken anywhere from a few hours to most of a day in previous incidents affecting Microsoft’s various online services.

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs surged more than 20% Thursday after the steel producer posted a smaller-than-expected second-quarter loss and announced a new multiyear Defense Department contract, giving investors a double dose of good news following weeks of sharp declines in the stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs traded at $11.35, up $1.90, as of 12:42 p.m. Eastern time. The rally builds on a stretch of intraday buying that began at the market open, with shares climbing from roughly $10.67 to as high as $11.25 before settling near session highs.

Second-quarter results beat expectations

Cleveland-Cliffs reported second-quarter 2026 revenues of $5.2 billion, a $300 million increase from the previous quarter and roughly in line with Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. The company posted a GAAP net loss of $134 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, with an adjusted net loss of $0.20 per diluted share, an improvement over the $0.21 per share loss analysts had been expecting on average heading into the report.

The quarter marked a significant improvement from the company’s first-quarter performance. Cleveland-Cliffs posted a GAAP net loss of $229 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2026, meaning the company roughly halved its per-share loss quarter over quarter. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $286 million for the second quarter, a $191 million improvement compared with the $95 million recorded in the first quarter. Operating cash flow for the quarter was $230 million, and the company reported liquidity of $3.1 billion as of June 30.

A new defense contract adds to the momentum

Beyond the earnings beat, Cleveland-Cliffs also benefited Thursday from news of a new sole-source, five-year contract with the Defense Logistics Agency worth up to $400 million. Under the agreement, Cleveland-Cliffs will supply grain-oriented electrical steel to multiple branches of the U.S. military through 2030, adding a defense-sector revenue stream to a company whose business has historically centered heavily on automotive-grade steel products.

CEO points to a stronger second half ahead

Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lourenco Goncalves struck an optimistic tone about the company’s trajectory heading into the back half of the year. “Looking ahead, we have clear visibility into the continuous earnings improvement that began during the first half of the year,” Goncalves said. “With average selling prices, volumes, and costs all moving in the right direction, our second-half earnings performance should be our strongest since 2021 as Q4 EBITDA is currently expected to even further exceed our Q3 guidance. We expect to finish the year on a positive note and enter 2027 with significant momentum and additional opportunities for upside, including the higher reset of fixed price contracts and much improved profits in Canada.”

A stock that had fallen sharply heading into earnings

Thursday’s rally comes after a difficult stretch for Cleveland-Cliffs shares. The stock had declined roughly 24% over the 30 days leading up to the earnings report and was down nearly 32% year-to-date as of earlier this week, reflecting broader investor caution around the domestic steel industry tied to pricing power, capacity utilization and competition from imported steel. Shares had traded as low as $8.84 just three days before Thursday’s report, before climbing to close near $11.21 following the earnings release and defense contract announcement.

Options markets had anticipated significant volatility heading into the report. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, options pricing implied an 11% potential move in Cleveland-Cliffs shares on earnings day, a figure the stock has exceeded in five of its last eight quarterly reports. The company’s largest historical earnings-day swing came in October 2025, when shares jumped 22.8% against a implied move of just 6.9%.

Mixed underlying fundamentals

Despite Thursday’s rally, Cleveland-Cliffs’ broader financial picture remains complicated. The company generated approximately $18.61 billion in revenue over the trailing 12 months, but continues to operate with thin to negative margins, posting a profit margin of roughly negative 6% and negative free cash flow of around $477 million over that period. The company’s most recent quarterly net loss, prior to the improvement reflected in Thursday’s report, had been roughly $237 million.

Ahead of the earnings release, analyst sentiment on the stock had been notably split. Some market observers viewed Cleveland-Cliffs as a beaten-down steel producer trading below its intrinsic value, pointing to a fair value estimate of $10.86 per share compared with a pre-earnings trading price of around $9.28, a valuation gap bulls attributed to the company’s ongoing cost-reduction efforts, including strategic footprint optimization and internal coke and feedstock integration. Bears, meanwhile, pointed to the company’s recent losses and uncertainty heading into the earnings report as reasons for caution.

A company built around North American steel

Cleveland-Cliffs is a leading North America-based steel producer with a particular focus on value-added sheet products for the automotive industry, operating manufacturing facilities across the United States and Canada. The company’s business has historically been closely tied to automotive demand, making the newly announced defense contract a notable diversification move into a different end market with long-term, government-backed demand visibility through 2030.

With Cleveland-Cliffs management projecting its strongest second-half earnings performance since 2021, investors will be watching closely to see whether the improving trends in average selling prices, sales volumes and cost management highlighted by Goncalves continue to materialize over the coming quarters. The company’s next scheduled updates, including any further detail on its fixed-price contract resets and progress on profitability in its Canadian operations, are likely to serve as key checkpoints for determining whether Thursday’s sharp rally reflects the start of a sustained recovery or a shorter-term reaction to a single strong quarter following weeks of investor pessimism.