CEO berates analysts on conference call: ‘You are a disaster…they will have to commit suicide’

Visits: 2

Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves berated Wall Street analysts and investors betting against his stock during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call on Friday, saying they “can’t read numbers.”

Referring to an unspecified individual, he added that the company’s stock buybacks “are going to screw this guy so badly that … they will have to commit suicide.” Cleveland-Cliffs bills itself as the largest and oldest iron ore miner in the U.S.

Goncalves’ rant began after the first analyst question on the earnings call:

“It’s unbelievable that this big banks has still employ this type of people, you should resign for your lack of knowledge of things, it’s not like that you don’t understand, you are very one of the best, it’s not like you don’t understand our business , you don’t understand your own business. You are a disaster. You are an embarrassment to your parents. With this being said, we are going to use money to reward the long-term shareholders. So, if the stock continues to go down based on these kids that play with computers and somebody else’s money, we are going to buy back stock. We are going to screw this guy so badly that I don’t believe that they will be able to only resign. They will have to commit suicide.”

Goncalves specifically went after Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Korn, saying “you can run but you can’t hide.” Korn has a ‘hold’ rating on the shares.

The chief executive appears to be upset at the stock market’s initial reaction to the company’s third-quarter results. The stock fell nearly 6 percent on Friday even after reporting an increase in profit and improving revenue. Excluding some items however, earnings per share in the period were 64 cents, below the 66-cent consensus estimate from analysts, according to FactSet.

This is not the first time Goncalves has been openly critical of Wall Street analysts. During the company’s earnings call in October 2014, Goncalves told Wells Fargo analyst Sam Dubinsky that he was “not going to answer” Dubinsky’s question, “because you already knew everything about my company.”

“You have a $4 price target and you think that we can’t sell assets,” Goncalves said to Dubinsky in 2014. “So I’m going to take the next question. I’m not going to answer you.”

Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

It’s unbelievable that this big banks has still employ this type of people, you should resign for your lack of knowledge of things, it’s not like that you don’t understand, you are very one of the best, it’s not like you don’t understand our business , you don’t understand your own business. You are a disaster. You are an embarrassment to your parents. With this being said, we are going to use money to reward the long-term shareholders. So, if the stock continues to go down based on these kids that play with computers and somebody else’s money, we are going to buy back stock. We are going to screw this guy so badly that I don’t believe that they will be able to only resign. They will have to commit suicide. So we are going to screw this guy so badly that will be fun to watch. That will be my first priority other than the two top priorities of finishing HBI and paying down debt. You are meeting with the wrong guy. That’s my message to you. I’m going to exactly what I have been doing in Nashwauk for a while

We don’t have any more throughout the world the dumping effects of dump Chinese steel, because we not only put these guys out of here, but we also backed our little kids little brothers.

Japan is benefiting so much from Section 232, because the Japanese cannot stand up against the Chinese on their own and their domestic market is benefiting from the fact that prices went up in Japan. Germany benefiting a lot, all of these effects a benefiting a lot. They complain because it looks good on paper, looks good on TV, but at the end of the day everybody throughout the entire world benefiting from tariffs. Mexicans they are benefiting a lot. Canadians right now with a quota, with everything, with USMA: benefiting a lot. So, we recovered our leadership in the world in the steel business. Thanks to President Trump, thanks for his courageous actions support the resurgence of manufacturing in United States of America. That’s what happened. By doing that, we stood up against a bully, and the bully is China.

Lisa, before you call the next question, are there a guy named Matthew Korn waiting in line to ask a question. He is – he calls himself an analyst and he works for Goldman Sachs.

Aww. Matthew Korn if you are on the call, [indisc] … why you don’t ask a freaking question? I will be happy to answer. Okay. Who is next Lisa?

With that, we are done and Matthew Korn from Goldman Sachs, you can run, but you can’t hide. I will see you at the Goldman Sachs Conference, very soon and bring your commodity desk guy because you owe me that for the last year. It will be easier for you if you have the commodity desk guy with you interviewing me. If you are alone, it will be a lot worse, it will be bad no matter what, but it will be a lot worse if you’re alone. Bring the commodity desk guys or girls with you because I promised you last year that I will take care of him, her next time and next time is coming. [indisc] I’ll see you guys soon. Thanks for joining me this call today, bye now.

WATCH: Cleveland-Cliffs CEO says he was just calling out bad math