Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, July 13, 2012

Article Excerpt

ALCOA INC., $8.42, New York symbol AA, reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings this week. Even so, the aluminum producer’s shares fell 4%. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, Alcoa earned $61 million, or $0.06 a share. These figures exclude several unusual items, such as costs related to a fire at one of its smelters and a $45-million offer to settle a lawsuit from an aluminum producer in Bahrain. Alcoa warned that it might have to pay an extra $75 million to settle this suit, which accuses the company of overcharging for raw materials. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.05 a share. A year earlier, Alcoa earned $326 million, or $0.28 a share. Revenue fell 9.4%, to $6.0 billion from $6.6 billion. That’s because aluminum prices dropped 17.7%. The company also cut its production by 0.4%. Even so, the latest revenue figure exceeded the consensus estimate of $5.8 billion. Alcoa still feels that global aluminum demand will…