U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.73), $0.15 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.88). Revenue for the quarter came in at $2.75 billion versus the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion.

• Net loss of $391 million, or $2.30 per diluted share
• Adjusted net loss of $123 million, or $0.73 per diluted share
• Adjusted EBITDA of $64 million
• Liquidity of $1.82 billion, including cash of $1.35 billion

“Our goal during these unprecedented circumstances is to protect lives and livelihoods, which means keeping our employees and communities safe and healthy and the business resilient,” said U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt. “Over the past several weeks, we have announced a series of actions in response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the significant changes in the global oil and gas markets. We continue to serve customers and the stakeholders who count on us as an essential business.” Burritt continued, “Challenging days are ahead, but I am confident in the men and women at U. S. Steel who are continuing to make steel as a critical part of our nation’s infrastructure and progress our 'best of both' integrated and mini mill technology strategy. We remain calm and focused to ensure a stronger U. S. Steel for all of our stakeholders.”

Reflecting on the quarter, Burritt commented, “Market activity was beginning to improve prior to the emergence of COVID-19 and the sudden changes in global oil and gas markets. As the impacts from these unprecedented market dynamics became apparent, we adjusted our footprint, fortified our balance sheet and aggressively cut costs. While these decisive actions helped us exceed our first quarter guidance, we have quickly turned our attention to the second quarter to not only ensure the safety and health of our employees but also to preserve cash and liquidity.”

“This transaction shows that while we will be nimble and flexible in executing our world-competitive, 'best of both' strategy, we will not be deterred," Burritt concluded. "In October of last year, we announced our acquisition of our 49.9% interest in Big River Steel and our goal of extracting incremental value from our iron ore assets. Today's announcement demonstrates the continued execution of our strategy and delivers $100 million of incremental cash to the balance sheet in 2020. We are pleased that this transaction validates the competitive advantage of our iron ore mining assets and gives us a path to an additional $500 million of capital to support continued execution of our strategy."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on U.S. Steel (X) click here.