Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses. The company offers primary aluminum in the form of alloy ingot or value-add ingot to customers that produce products for the transportation, building and construction, packaging, wire, and other industrial markets; and flat-rolled aluminum in the form of sheet, which is sold primarily to customers that produce beverage and food cans. In addition, it owns hydro power plants that generates and sells electricity in the wholesale market to traders, large industrial consumers, distribution companies, and other generation companies. The company was formerly known as Alcoa Upstream Corporation and changed its name to Alcoa Corporation in October 2016. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Alcoa Corporation

The U.S. stock market rallied yesterday, with all three major indices touching new record highs, reflecting investors’ optimism surrounding the upcoming meeting between Trump and Xi on Thursday, with widespread anticipation of a positive trade truce. The upbeat mood of Wall Street was also on account of the cooler-than-expected inflation data released last week and impressive quarterly results expected from the big tech stocks this week.
With optimism lifting market sentiment, stakeholders might be encouraged to invest more, expecting momentum to build as the U.S.-China meeting draws closer. However, since the share market has lately been on edge, we recommend choosing safe-bet stocks like NatWest Group (NWG), CBOE Global Markets (CBOE), Alcoa Corp. (AA), Safran SA (SAFRY) and Casey's General Stores (CASY) that are less leveraged and thus likely to provide a protective cushion against a sudden economic crisis.
Now, before selecting low-leverage stocks, let’s explore what leverage is and how choosing a low-leverage stock can help investors.
What’s the Significance of Low-Leverage Stocks?
In finance, leverage refers to the practice of borrowing capital to help companies run their operations smoothly and expand their business. Such borrowings are done through debt financing. But there remains an option for equity finance. This is probably due to the cheap and easy availability of debt over equity financing.
However, debt financing has its share of drawbacks. Particularly, it is desirable only as long as it successfully generates a higher rate of return compared to the interest rate. To avoid considerable losses in your portfolio, it is advisable to avoid companies that rely excessively on debt financing.
The crux of safe investment lies in choosing a company that is not burdened with debt, as a debt-free stock is almost impossible to find.
The equity market can be volatile at times, and, as an investor, if you don’t want to lose big time, we suggest you invest in stocks that bear low leverage and are, hence, less risky.
To identify such stocks, historically, several leverage ratios have been developed to measure the amount of debt a company bears. The debt-to-equity ratio is one such common ratio.
Analyzing Debt/Equity
This metric is a liquidity ratio that indicates the amount of financial risk a company bears. A lower debt-to-equity ratio reflects improved solvency for a company.
With the ongoing third-quarter 2025 earnings season, investors should be eyeing stocks that have demonstrated solid earnings growth in recent periods.
But if a stock bears a high debt-to-equity ratio in times of economic downturn, its so-called booming earnings picture might turn into a nightmare.
The Winning Strategy
Considering the factors above, it is prudent to choose stocks with a low debt-to-equity ratio to ensure steady returns.
Yet, an investment strategy based solely on the debt-to-equity ratio might not fetch the desired outcome. To choose stocks that have the potential to give you steady returns, we have expanded our screening criteria to include some other factors.
Here are the other parameters:
Debt/Equity less than X-Industry Median: Stocks that are less leveraged than their industry peers.
Current Price greater than or equal to 10: The stocks must be trading at a minimum of $10 or above.
Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.
Percentage Change in EPS F(0)/F(-1) greater than X-Industry Median: Earnings growth adds to optimism, leading to a stock’s price appreciation.
VGM Score of A or B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential.
Estimated One-Year EPS Growth F(1)/F(0) greater than 5: This shows earnings growth expectation.
Zacks Rank #1 or 2: Irrespective of market conditions, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have a proven history of success.
Excluding stocks that have a negative or a zero debt-to-equity ratio, here we present our five picks out of the 17 stocks that made it through the screen.
Natwest Group: It operates as a banking and financial services company. On Oct. 7, 2025, Natwest Group announced its minority investment in JS Group to drive the adoption of its Aspire platform. This investment underscores NatWest’s commitment to supporting innovative solutions that enhance financial accessibility and efficient management for funders through the adoption of technology.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NWG’s 2025 earnings has improved 7.5% over the past seven days. The company boasts a long-term (three-to-five years) earnings growth rate of 12.2%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.
CBOE Global Markets: It is one of the largest stock exchange operators by volume in the United States and a leading market globally for ETP trading. On Oct. 3, 2025, CBOE reported September trading volume statistics across its global business lines. The statistics reflected that total volume across Cboe's four options exchanges set monthly and quarterly records, with an average daily volume of 20.5 million in September and 18.8 million in the third quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBOE’s 2025 sales suggests an improvement of 10.8% from the year-ago quarter’s level. The company boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 14.8%. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.
Alcoa Corp.: It is the world's largest third-party producer of alumina. On Oct. 22, 2025, the company reported its third-quarter 2025 results. Its revenues grew 3.1% year over year. AA’s Alumina production increased 4% sequentially to 2.5 million metric tons.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AA’s 2025 sales suggests a year-over-year improvement of 6.3%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 51.9%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Safran: It is a high-technology company that produces aircraft, rocket engines, and propulsion systems. On Oct. 24, 2025, the company reported its third-quarter 2025 revenue results. Its third-quarter revenues improved 18.3% year over year, driven by growth witnessed across its business divisions.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SAFRY’s 2025 sales suggests a year-over-year improvement of 40.4%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 20.9%. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Casey's General Stores: It operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. On Sept. 8, 2025, the company announced financial results for first-quarter fiscal 2026, which ended on July 31, 2025. Its inside same-store sales increased 4.3% year over year, while earnings grew 19.5%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CASY’s fiscal 2026 sales indicates an improvement of 9.6% from the fiscal 2025 reported actuals. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CASY’s fiscal 2026 earnings indicates an improvement of 9.3% from the fiscal 2025 reported actuals. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
You can get the remaining stocks on this list by signing up now for your two-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your trading. Further, you can create your strategies and backtest them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today.
And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.
Quantum Computing Stocks Set To Soar
Artificial intelligence has already reshaped the investment landscape, and its convergence with quantum computing could lead to the most significant wealth-building opportunities of our time.
Today, you have a chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this technological revolution. In our urgent special report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power, you'll discover the little-known stocks we believe will win the quantum computing race and deliver massive gains to early investors.
Access the Report Free Now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Alcoa (AA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Buy These 5 Low-Leverage Stocks as Market Touches New Record High

Key Points
The aluminum producer has found an effective way to cope with tariffs.
Investors responded positively to this, especially because it positively affected third-quarter fundamentals.
A double miss on quarterly analyst estimates usually pushes a stock's price down, but that wasn't the case with Alcoa (NYSE: AA) on Thursday. Despite the twin whiffs the company posted in its third quarter, market players were encouraged by management's strategy to cope with a major challenge in the aluminum industry.
With that, Alcoa's shares closed the day nearly 13% higher in price. This compared very well to the 0.6% increase of the bellwether S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »
A dip into the red
Just after the market closed on Wednesday, Alcoa unveiled third-quarter financials. These showed that revenue inched up by 3% on a year-over-year basis to a shade under $3 billion. Net loss not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, was $6 million ($0.02 per share). That represented a flip from the $135 million profit of third quarter 2024.
Analysts were expecting Alcoa's adjusted bottom line to land in profit, to the tune of $0.02 per share. The company also missed the pundit consensus revenue estimate of over $3.1 billion.
Rolling with the punches
However, in its earnings release, Alcoa wrote that the Midwest premium it earned on U.S. aluminum production more than offset the negative effect of tariffs and other costs on aluminum imports. Specifically, it pointed to shipments from its smelters located in Canada to U.S. clientele.
Tariffs are a major concern across the broader metallurgy sector, so the company's apparent resilience in the face of them boosted investor sentiment. Those folks might not be so forgiving if Alcoa doesn't return to adjusted profitability before long, though.
Should you invest $1,000 in Alcoa right now?
Before you buy stock in Alcoa, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Alcoa wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $602,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,105,092!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,028% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2025
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Alcoa Stock Soared by Almost 13% on Thursday

On October 22, 2025, the IBM board of directors approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.68 per common share, to stockholders of record on November 10, 2025. With payment of the December 10, 2025 dividend, IBM will have paid consecutive quarterly dividends every year since 1916.
Alcoa today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share of the Company's common stock and Series A convertible preferred stock, to be paid on November 21, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 4, 2025.
Kinder Morgan's board of directors today approved a cash dividend of $0.2925 per share for the third quarter, $1.17 annualized, payable on November 17, 2025, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 3, 2025. This dividend is a 2% increase over the third quarter of 2024.
McDonald's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.86 per share of common stock payable on December 15, 2025 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 1, 2025. The 5% increase over the Company's previous quarterly dividend reflects continued confidence in the Accelerating the Arches growth strategy and our ability to drive long-term profitable growth for all stakeholders. McDonald's has a strong history of returning capital to its shareholders and has raised its dividend for 49 consecutive years since paying its first dividend in 1976.
Parker Hannifin, the global leader in motion and control technologies, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.80 per share of common stock to shareholders of record as of November 7, 2025. The dividend is payable December 5, 2025. This is the company's 302nd consecutive quarterly dividend. Parker has increased its annual dividends per share paid to shareholders for 69 consecutive fiscal years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 Index.
VIDEO: Daily Dividend Report: IBM,AA,KMI,MCD,PH
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Daily Dividend Report: IBM,AA,KMI,MCD,PH

The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Contrarian Investor model based on the published strategy of David Dreman. This contrarian strategy finds the most unpopular mid- and large-cap stocks in the market and looks for improving fundamentals.
ALCOA CORP (AA) is a mid-cap value stock in the Metal Mining industry. The rating according to our strategy based on David Dreman changed from 69% to 76% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Alcoa Corporation is a vertically integrated aluminum company comprised of bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminum production (smelting and casting), and energy generation. The Companys operations are comprised of two business segments: Alumina and Aluminum. The Alumina segment primarily consists of its bauxite mines and alumina refineries, which generally include the mining of bauxite and other aluminous ores, as well as the refining, production, and sale of smelter grade and non-metallurgical alumina. The alumina produced by this segment is sold to internal and external aluminum smelter customers; a portion of the alumina is sold to external customers who process it into industrial chemical products. The Aluminum segment consists of the Companys aluminum smelting and casting operations along with the Companys energy production assets in Brazil, Canada, and the United States. It has direct and indirect ownership of 26 operating locations across nine countries on six continents.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
EPS GROWTH RATE IN THE IMMEDIATE PAST AND FUTURE:
FAIL
Detailed Analysis of ALCOA CORP
ANNALY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC (NLY) is a large-cap value stock in the Misc. Financial Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on David Dreman changed from 57% to 90% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Annaly Capital Management, Inc. is a diversified capital manager with investment strategies across mortgage finance. It owns a portfolio of real estate related investments, including mortgage pass-through certificates, collateralized mortgage obligations, credit risk transfer (CRT) securities, and other securities representing interests in or obligations backed by pools of mortgage loans, residential mortgage loans and mortgage servicing rights. Its investment groups include Annaly Agency Group, Annaly Residential Credit Group, and Annaly Mortgage Servicing Rights Group. Annaly Agency Group invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages. Annaly Residential Credit Group invests in non-agency residential mortgage assets within residential and commercial markets. Annaly Mortgage Servicing Rights Group invests in MSR, which provides the right to service residential mortgage loans in exchange for a portion of the interest payments made on the loans.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
EPS GROWTH RATE IN THE IMMEDIATE PAST AND FUTURE:
PASS
Detailed Analysis of ANNALY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC
About David Dreman: Dreman's Kemper-Dreman High Return Fund was one of the best-performing mutual funds ever, ranking as the best of 255 funds in its peer groups from 1988 to 1998, according to Lipper Analytical Services. At the time Dreman published Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation, the fund had been ranked number one in more time periods than any of the 3,175 funds in Lipper's database. In addition to managing money, Dreman is also a longtime Forbes magazine columnist.
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Validea David Dreman Strategy Daily Upgrade Report - 10/23/2025

Data is currently not available
Edit My Quotes
Add up to 25 symbols
To add symbols:
Type a symbol or company name. When the symbol you want to add appears, add it to My Quotes by selecting it and pressing Enter/Return.
Copy and paste multiple symbols separated by spaces.
These symbols will be available throughout the site during your session.
Data is currently not available
Edit My European Quotes
Add up to 25 instruments
To add instruments:
Type a instrument or company name. When the instrument you want to add appears, add it to My European Quotes by selecting it and pressing Enter/Return.
Copy and paste multiple instruments separated by spaces.
These instruments will be available throughout the site during your session.
Data is currently not available
Your symbols have been updated
You'll now be able to see real-time price and activity for your symbols on the My Quotes of Nasdaq.com.
Data is currently not available
Edit Watchlist
Add up to 20 symbols
To add symbols:
Type a symbol or company name. When the symbol you want to add appears, add it to Watchlist by selecting it and pressing Enter/Return.
Copy and paste multiple symbols separated by spaces.
These symbols will be available throughout the site during your session.
Data is currently not available
Opt in to Smart Portfolio
We are currently experiencing technical difficulties, please try again.
Smart Portfolio is supported by our partner TipRanks. By connecting my portfolio to TipRanks Smart Portfolio I agree to their Terms of Use.

Alcoa (AA) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Alcoa Corporation (Symbol: AA), where a total of 32,862 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 3.3 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 45.3% of AA's average daily trading volume over the past month of 7.3 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $50 strike call option expiring June 18, 2026, with 5,247 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 524,700 underlying shares of AA. Below is a chart showing AA's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $50 strike highlighted in orange:
Danaher Corp (Symbol: DHR) options are showing a volume of 21,833 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 2.2 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 44.4% of DHR's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 4.9 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $230 strike call option expiring January 16, 2026, with 2,161 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 216,100 underlying shares of DHR. Below is a chart showing DHR's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $230 strike highlighted in orange:
And Fluor Corp. (Symbol: FLR) options are showing a volume of 15,939 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.6 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 43.8% of FLR's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 3.6 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $55 strike call option expiring November 21, 2025, with 2,226 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 222,600 underlying shares of FLR. Below is a chart showing FLR's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $55 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for AA options, DHR options, or FLR options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Also see:
TKF Historical Stock Prices
CGA Options Chain
FFIC Price Target
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Notable Tuesday Option Activity: AA, DHR, FLR

Alcoa Corporation AA is likely to register an increase in the top line from last year’s quarterly reading when it reports third-quarter 2025 earnings on Oct. 22, after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $3.02 billion, indicating an increase of 4.1% from the prior-year’s quarterly figure.
The bottom line of this leading producer of bauxite, alumina and aluminum products is expected to have declined from the earlier year’s quarterly figure. Over the past 30 days, the consensus estimate for earnings per share has decreased 116% to an adjusted loss of seven cents per share. The figure indicates an increase of 112.3% from last year’s quarterly level.
The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 54.6%, on average, beating estimates all through.
Key Factors to Note Ahead of AA’s Results
An increase in demand for products like slab, billet and rod in both Europe and North America is expected to have benefited Alcoa’s Aluminum segment in the third quarter of 2025. Also, the restart of the Alumar and Warrick smelter is likely to have aided the segment’s sales.
For the third quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Aluminum segment’s third-party sales is $2.11 billion, implying a 17% increase from the year-ago number. The consensus mark for the Aluminum segment’s total sales is pegged at $2.11 billion, indicating a 16.8% rise from the year-ago reported number.
Synergistic gains from partnerships and acquisitions made by the company are expected to have boosted revenues. In March 2025, Alcoa and IGNIS EQT entered into a joint venture agreement. Under the agreement, AA owns 75% of the equity and continues to operate the San Ciprián production site. In August 2024, Alcoa acquired Alumina Limited. This acquisition bolstered its position as a pure-play and upstream aluminum company worldwide.
Also, Alcoa's efforts to increase smelter and refinery capacity are likely to have supported its performance in the to-be-reported quarter.
However, Alcoa’s Alumina segment’s results are expected to put up a weak show due to weakness in the bauxite market, arising from safety and environmental inspections. The consensus mark for the Alumina segment’s third-party sales is pegged at $813 million, implying an 18.9% decrease from the year-ago number. The consensus mark for the Alumina segment’s total sales is pegged at $1.40 billion, indicating a 15.5% decline from the year-ago number.
Given the company’s extensive geographic presence, its operations are subject to global political risks and foreign exchange headwinds. A stronger U.S. dollar is likely to have hurt Alcoa's overseas business in the quarter.
Alcoa Price and EPS Surprise
Earnings Whispers for AA
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for AA this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here, as elaborated below.
Earnings ESP: AA has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, as both the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at an adjusted loss of seven cents per share. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: AA presently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies, which according to our model, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in this reporting cycle.
Illinois Tool Works, Inc. ITW has an Earnings ESP of +0.35% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. ITW is slated to release third-quarter 2025 results on Oct. 24.
Illinois Tool’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 2.3%.
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. SWK has an Earnings ESP of +3.59% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is scheduled to release third-quarter 2025 results on Nov. 4.
Stanley Black’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average surprise being 57.3%.
Sealed Air Corporation SEE has an Earnings ESP of +1.28% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. SEE is slated to release third-quarter 2025 results on Nov. 4.
Sealed Air’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 19.0%.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the months ahead. They include
Stock #1: A Disruptive Force with Notable Growth and Resilience
Stock #2: Bullish Signs Signaling to Buy the Dip
Stock #3: One of the Most Compelling Investments in the Market
Stock #4: Leader In a Red-Hot Industry Poised for Growth
Stock #5: Modern Omni-Channel Platform Coiled to Spring
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +171%, +209% and +232%.
Download Atomic Opportunity: Nuclear Energy's Comeback free today.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Alcoa (AA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Alcoa Gears Up to Post Q3 Earnings: What Lies Ahead for the Stock?

Pre-market earnings are flat-to-down at this hour, following another robust session Wednesday, led by an expanding AI trade and climbing gold values that have brought market indexes up double-digits from April lows. The Dow is -16 points, the S&P 500 +1 and the Nasdaq -4 points. The small-cap Russell 2000 is -2 points.
There are no Weekly Jobless Claims numbers this Thursday, now for the second week in a row. When we last saw new jobless claims for the third week in September, they had fallen precipitously from +264K two weeks prior to +218K, for a -46K drop — roughly the size of a large corporation. Continuing Claims had found a new equilibrium at around 1.93 million, below the 13-week range between 1.94-1.975 million.
Retail Data Suggests Pause Prior to the Holidays
We did see the release of CNBC’s NRF Retail Monitor report for September this morning, with results swinging to a negative. Retail & Restaurants (ex-autos and gas) slipped to -0.7% last month, following +0.5% the prior month. Core Retail (ex-restaurants, autos & gas) came in at -0.5% from +0.3% in August.
There is clear seasonality to this data, and positioned as September is between “back to school” and the holidays, a drop in retail purchases is a signal the consumer is saving their pennies ahead of holiday spending. Year over year, while coming down to +5.4% on headline and +5.7% on core — significantly below the +6.8% and +6.7%, respectively, from a month ago — we’re still at reasonably healthy spending levels.
Q3 Earnings Season Kicks Off: Delta, Pepsi, Tilray
Ahead of today’s opening bell, Delta Air Lines (DAL), now functioning as Alcoa (AA) did in years past as the opening salvo for a new earnings season, outperformed expectations in Q3. Earnings of $1.71 per share easily surpassed the $1.52 analysts were projecting, on $16.67 billion in revenues which outpaced the Zacks consensus by +5.61%, and above the $15.68 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.
Despite what we saw in the September NRF Retail Monitor, discretionary spending in Q3 performed quite well in Delta’s case. The major airline also ratcheted up earnings guidance for Q4, to a range of $1.60-1.90 per share from $1.59 in the Zacks consensus. Shares are up +8% in today’s pre-market on the news.
Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated PepsiCo (PEP) also beat estimates in Q3 this morning, albeit by slimmer margins. Earnings of $2.29 per share came in 2 cents higher than consensus (and 2 cents lower than the $2.31 per share reported a year ago). It’s the third earnings beat in the past four quarters. Revenues of $23.94 billion outperformed expectations by +0.25%. Shares are up modestly in early trading, still down -8% year to date.
Canadian cannabis supplier Tilray (TLRY) also surpassed estimates in its fiscal Q1 earnings report this morning, with a bottom line in the quarter of $0.00 per share from expectations of -$0.03. Revenues of $210 million in the quarter improved over the $206.8 million anticipated. Non-medical (adult use) cannabis revenues increased +12% year over year. Shares are blooming +18% in pre-market activity.
Quantum Computing Stocks Set To Soar
Artificial intelligence has already reshaped the investment landscape, and its convergence with quantum computing could lead to the most significant wealth-building opportunities of our time.
Today, you have a chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this technological revolution. In our urgent special report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power, you'll discover the little-known stocks we believe will win the quantum computing race and deliver massive gains to early investors.
Access the Report Free Now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Alcoa (AA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Tilray Brands, Inc. (TLRY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Q3 Earnings Season Begins On Positive Note

In trading on Tuesday, the Simplify Macro Strategy ETF is outperforming other ETFs, up about 7.1% on the day. Components of that ETF showing particular strength include shares of Maravai Lifesciences Holdings, up about 7.2% and shares of Alcoa, up about 5.7% on the day.
And underperforming other ETFs today is the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF, down about 2.8% in Tuesday afternoon trading. Among components of that ETF with the weakest showing on Tuesday were shares of D.R. Horton, lower by about 5.3%, and shares of Century Communities, lower by about 5.1% on the day.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Tuesday's ETF Movers: FIG, ITB

Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Alcoa Corporation (Symbol: AA), where a total volume of 37,984 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 3.8 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 59.2% of AA's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 6.4 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $40 strike call option expiring October 17, 2025, with 13,433 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.3 million underlying shares of AA. Below is a chart showing AA's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $40 strike highlighted in orange:
Las Vegas Sands Corp (Symbol: LVS) options are showing a volume of 31,223 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 3.1 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 58.3% of LVS's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 5.4 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $57 strike call option expiring October 03, 2025, with 18,709 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.9 million underlying shares of LVS. Below is a chart showing LVS's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $57 strike highlighted in orange:
And Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (Symbol: MARA) options are showing a volume of 406,214 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 40.6 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 56.7% of MARA's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 71.7 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $19.50 strike call option expiring October 03, 2025, with 46,851 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 4.7 million underlying shares of MARA. Below is a chart showing MARA's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $19.50 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for AA options, LVS options, or MARA options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Also see:
TBRG Options Chain
CXAI shares outstanding history
Funds Holding ATUS
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Alcoa Corporation

Price history and volume

Shares 360

Investment risk — medium

Investment potential — medium

About