Alcoa (NYSE: AA) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Jan. 8. 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 Alcoa's revenues will shrink -6.3% and EPS will wane -300.0%.

The average estimate for revenue is $5.61 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.06.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Alcoa reported revenue of $5.83 billion. GAAP reported sales were 9.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $6.42 billion.

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, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.03. GAAP EPS were -$0.13 for Q3 versus $0.15 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 10.4%, 720 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -0.8%, 770 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -2.5%, 520 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $23.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.24.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,421 members out of 3,661 rating the stock outperform, and 240 members rating it underperform. Among 806 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 762 give Alcoa a green thumbs-up, and 44 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 $11.07.

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