Cleveland Cliffs Investment Puts These AI Automation Stocks On Watch

Cleveland-Cliffs just committed US$1b to upgrade its Middletown Works plant with AI-enabled process controls, which puts a fresh spotlight on companies that help factories run smarter and cheaper. That kind of spending can ripple across suppliers and rivals, and investors who ignore it risk missing where capital is quietly flowing. This article walks through three stocks exposed to this news and how each might fit into your watchlist.

The stocks below are just a starting sample of industrial automation and AI process-control providers, and the full screen surfaced 69 more U.S.-listed companies with equally compelling narratives that are not covered here. If you want to move faster, head straight into the Industrial Automation and AI Process-Control Providers screener to identify, filter, and analyze the setups that best fit your own conviction.

Analog Devices (ADI)

Overview: Analog Devices designs and sells high performance integrated circuits and subsystems that convert and condition real world analog signals into digital data for use in industrial automation, factory equipment, autos, communications and other electronics. Its mixed signal chips, sensors and software are widely used in PLCs, motor control and condition monitoring, which are central to AI enabled process control.

Operations: Analog Devices generates about US$13.9b in revenue from designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of integrated circuits and related products.

Market Cap: US$179.4b

Investors looking at factory automation may consider Analog Devices because it supplies the precision data converters, signal chains and power chips that sit inside PLCs and AI driven process controls used in projects like Cleveland Cliffs’ steel plant upgrade. The company combines high margin analog products and a large industrial and automotive footprint with steady cash generation and a sizeable capital investment program. This can support participation in automation, data center and energy markets over the long term. On the other hand, investors face a premium valuation and rising competition, along with ongoing heavy investment that could pressure returns if demand softens. For those seeking exposure to automation and AI infrastructure, that trade off is worth examining in more detail.

Analog Devices’ premium story in factory automation looks powerful, but the real question is whether the current pricing fully reflects that position. Test your thesis against the 4 key rewards and 1 important warning sign

Build your own automation and AI shortlist

Analog Devices and the two other stocks in this article all came from a single Simply Wall St screen, and you can set up the same kind of filters in a few clicks. Use our flexible Screener to combine your preferred metrics, or browse through our curated Investing Ideas for ready made starting points.

ON Semiconductor (ON)

Overview: ON Semiconductor provides intelligent sensing and power semiconductor solutions that sit inside industrial automation, robotics, and smart factory equipment, as well as cars, AI data centers, and other connected devices. Its portfolio of power management chips, sensor interfaces, and image sensors helps factories and machines monitor conditions, control processes, and use energy more efficiently.

Operations: ON Semiconductor generates most of its revenue from the Power Solutions Group at about US$3.0b, followed by the Analog & Mixed-Signal Group at roughly US$2.2b and the Intelligent Sensing Group at around US$945 million.

Market Cap: US$29.1b

ON Semiconductor is worth a closer look for investors seeking exposure to the plumbing of factory automation and AI-ready process control. Its power and sensing chips are used directly in modernized plants like Cleveland Cliffs’ upgrade projects. Management is focusing on higher margin areas such as silicon carbide power, AI data centers, and machine vision for robotics. At the same time, the company is working through manufacturing underutilization and one-off losses, and it relies fully on external borrowing, which adds financial risk. How these efficiency efforts and capital investments compare with developments in its end markets is a key consideration for investors building a watchlist around automation and AI infrastructure.

ON Semiconductor is working to transition toward higher-margin power and sensing operations while maintaining significant reliance on borrowing. See how that balance between ambition and risk compares in the analysis report for ON Semiconductor

Vishay Precision Group (VPG)

Overview: Vishay Precision Group supplies high accuracy sensors, strain gauges, load cells, and measurement systems that help factories and industrial equipment measure force, weight, tension, and process variables. These are essential inputs for automated and AI enabled process control. Its technologies support applications from steel mills and aluminum plants to pharmaceuticals, energy, and product safety testing across multiple global end markets.

Operations: Vishay Precision Group generates about US$130 million of revenue from Sensors, US$116 million from Weighing Solutions, and US$84 million from Measurement Systems, with a small loss reported in Corporate/Other.

Market Cap: US$829 million

Vishay Precision Group provides focused exposure to the “picks and shovels” of industrial automation, since its precision sensors and strain gauges are the components that let AI enabled steel and aluminum lines measure every ton, coil, and strip in real time. The stock is trading below the value implied by some analyst estimates, while the company is working on margin improvement through cost reductions and higher value niches such as humanoid robotics, data centers, and advanced metals testing. Earnings have been volatile, recent quarters have included losses, and demand in steel and some transport markets has softened. For investors who can tolerate that bumpier profile, the combination of automation exposure and current valuation may merit further research.

Vishay Precision Group’s automation story looks mispriced, with sensors integrated directly into steel, aluminum and robotics projects. See how that setup stacks up in the full narrative for Vishay Precision Group

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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