European Steelmaker That Reportedly Donated Steel To Trump's White House Ballroom Is Outrunning Every US Steel Stock

• ArcelorMittal's stock has surged over 100% since Trump’s tariff push, far outpacing Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and Cleveland-Cliffs.
• Gains are mainly driven by strong European pricing, mining strength, and strategic deals, alongside political buzz tied to a high-profile White House project.
• U.S. peers lag despite solid demand outlooks, with mixed earnings and more modest stock performance.

U.S.-listed shares of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal have more than doubled since President Trump unveiled his tariff blitz last year, leaving American steelmakers well behind.

On the New York Stock Exchange, ArcelorMittal’s stock has surged nearly 110% since April 2, 2025, when Trump declared “Liberation Day” by imposing tariffs on virtually every U.S. trading partner. By comparison, Nucor Corp. and Steel Dynamics, Inc. have each jumped roughly 51%, while nearly 180-year-old Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. has managed just a 6% gain.

ArcelorMittal's Trump's Ballroom Connection

The outperformance comes as ArcelorMittal finds itself at the center of a politically charged story. According to a New York Times report published Wednesday, the White House has secured tens of millions of dollars' worth of donated foreign steel for Trump's $400 million ballroom renovation project. ArcelorMittal — the world's second-largest steelmaker — is supplying the steel for the project's structure, with material produced in Europe, where the bulk of the company's production is concentrated, per the report.

The White House has not disclosed details of the donation, but Trump said last October that he had received an offer of $37 million worth of steel for the ballroom. Those comments reportedly came just days before the White House announced tariff adjustments that could benefit ArcelorMittal by cutting the duties on automotive steel exports from its Canadian plant in half.

Representatives of U.S. steel companies told the Times that accepting foreign steel for such an iconic American building risks angering domestic producers, a politically sensitive flashpoint given the administration's own tariff agenda.

What's Driving ArcelorMittal's Performance

Beyond the political noise, ArcelorMittal has delivered strong results. In February, the company forecast a rosy year ahead after revealing that profits more than doubled in 2025, driven by higher pricing in Europe, strong African mining operations, and a well-timed U.S. acquisition — that of Nippon Steel's 50% stake in a former joint-venture steel plant in Alabama.

On its home turf, the European steel industry has struggled against cheaper imports, particularly from China. In February, CEO Aditya Mittal flagged two developments he views as tailwinds: proposed new trade protection measures and improvements to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which charges importers for the carbon cost of goods produced under looser emissions rules. Together, Mittal argues, these policies should help European steelmakers return to healthier capacity utilization and profitability. However, he tempered expectations, noting that the full benefit is more likely to materialize in the second half of 2026 and into 2027.

How US Steelmakers Are Faring

Cleveland-Cliffs, Nucor, and Steel Dynamics all saw earnings worsen in 2025: CLF's net losses widened, while Nucor and Steel Dynamics saw net income shrink, even as the latter two managed to grow revenue.

Their outlooks, however, were more mixed than the numbers suggest. Steel Dynamics issued a softer-than-expected profit forecast but said steel demand remains strong across non-residential construction, energy, and automotive segments. Nucor entered the year with historically strong backlogs, up nearly 40% year-over-year in its steel mills segment and 15% in its steel products segment, and expects tariffs and recent trade rulings to meaningfully reduce steel imports in 2026. Cleveland-Cliffs called its robust order book the "best confirmation" that the business environment has already begun to improve, citing 50% tariffs as a leading driver.

What Wall Street Thinks Of CLF, NUE, STLD

Analyst sentiment varies across the group. CLF carries a consensus 'Hold' rating with a price target implying 34% upside from current levels. NUE and STLD both hold 'Strong Buy' ratings, though the implied upside diverges sharply: just 1.3% for Nucor versus 45% for Steel Dynamics, per Koyfin.

On Stocktwits, CLF has seen message volumes dip by 84% over the past year, even as watchers have increased by 3.5%. NUE, meanwhile, has seen chatter tumble over 70% while followers have jumped by 8%. STLD has seen the strongest growth in retail-trader interest, with message volume surging by about 50% and followers rising by nearly 4%.

Earlier this month, Trump further tightened metal import tariffs by signing a new proclamation closing a loophole in how duties were calculated. Previously, tariffs were assessed on prices declared by foreign exporters, which could be artificially deflated to reduce the effective tariff burden. The new rules require that duties be calculated based on the full market value of imported metal, regardless of what the seller reports.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: Critical Metals Stock Surges As Trump Sets Sights On Greenland Yet Again