U.S. Steel Suffers Biggest Stock Plunge In Its 26-year Public History

Shares of U.S. Steel Corp. plunged 25% in morning trade Wednesday, putting them on course to suffer the biggest one-day selloff since they went public in April 1991, after the steelmaker reported a surprise quarterly loss. The previous biggest one-day drop was 18% on Oct. 15, 2008. The stock, which was by far the biggest percentage decliner listed on the NYSE, was trading at the lowest level seen since Nov. 8, 2016. At one point, the stock had nearly doubled after the election, to a 2 1/2-year high close of $41.26 on Feb. 21, before all the post-election gains were erased. Volume topped the full-day average of 19.0 million shares within 15 minutes after the open. The company reported late Tuesday an adjusted loss per share of 83 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus for a profit of 35 cents a share. Revenue of $2.73 billion also missed expectations of $2.95 billion. The stock has now shed 29% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.