Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reported earnings on Jan. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Alcoa beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped slightly and GAAP earnings per share grew.

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 Alcoa reported revenue of $5.90 billion. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $5.60 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $5.99 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.06. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.06 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.21 for Q4 compared to -$0.18 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 15.8%, 300 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.0%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.1%, 730 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.94 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.12.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $24.66 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.66.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,426 members out of 3,668 rating the stock outperform, and 242 members rating it underperform. Among 793 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 753 give Alcoa a green thumbs-up, and 40 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Alcoa is hold, with an average price target of $10.64.

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