Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Century Aluminum's revenues will wither -11.7% and EPS will shrink to a loss.

The average estimate for revenue is $305.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.26.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Century Aluminum reported revenue of $323.6 million. GAAP reported sales were 12% lower than the prior-year quarter's $366.3 million.

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

EPS details
 Last quarter, EPS came in at -$0.14. GAAP EPS were -$0.14 for Q2 versus $0.24 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 1.8%, 1,250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -1.5%, 1,220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -3.8%, 1,030 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.27 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.56.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 441 members out of 480 rating the stock outperform, and 39 members rating it underperform. Among 121 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 112 give Century Aluminum a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Century Aluminum is hold, with an average price target of $11.63.

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