Alcoa Beats; Ups Global Forecast (AA)

Shares of Alcoa Inc. AA are flat in the after-hours session after the company said that Q2 EPS came in at $0.13 per share on revenue of $5.2 billion. This beat the Street estimates of $0.12 per shares on revenue of $5.05 billion; the report significantly beat the whisper number, which was far lower, at $0.05 per share. Free chase flow for the quarter totaled $87 million with cash on hand of $1.34 billion. Interesting to note is that the company raised their global end market demand forecast from 10% to 12% for the year. "Prospects for Alcoa and aluminum continue to be excellent," said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa Chairman and CEO, "Aluminum is traditionally a backbone of growing economies and is penetrating new applications every day. Alcoa has enviable positions in bauxite, alumina and aluminum and our investments will move us further down the cost curve. Meanwhile, our mid- and downstream businesses continue to improve margins." Revenues grew across the board for Alcoa, rising 22% year over year: • Packaging (+17%) • Commercial transportation (+10%) • Building and construction (+9%) • Distribution (+5%) • Industrial gas turbines (+5%) • Aerospace (+5%)