Alcoa Beats Q3 EPS Expectations, Rides Alumina Price Surge Despite Production Hiccups

Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) shares are trading higher on premarket Thursday. On Wednesday, the company reported third quarter sales of $2.904 billion, missing the consensus of $2.967 billion.

Alumina production dropped 4% sequentially to 2.44 million metric tons, mainly due to the full curtailment of the Kwinana refinery in June 2024.

Meanwhile, aluminum production rose 3% sequentially to 559,000 metric tons, driven by progress on the Alumar smelter restart.

In the Alumina segment, third-party shipments dropped 9% sequentially, mainly due to reduced trading activity.

In the Aluminum segment, total shipments fell 6% on a sequential basis, owing to lower trading and shipment timing.

Adjusted EBITDA, excluding special items, rose to $455 million from $325 million in the second quarter thanks to higher alumina prices and lower raw material costs.

Adjusted EPS of $0.57 exceeded the consensus of $0.28.

The company ended the third quarter of 2024 with a cash balance of $1.3 billion.

Dividend: The Board ...