What: Shares of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI 2.63%) dropped as much as 11% in early trading today after the company announced second-quarter earnings.
So what: Revenue dropped 8.6% in the quarter to $1.02 billion, although it wasn't much lower than the $1.04 billion bar Wall Street had set. On the bottom line, the numbers weren't quite as good: Net loss for the quarter was $16.4 million, or $0.15 per share, when analysts were expecting a profit of $0.04 per share.
A couple of factors worked against Allegheny Technologies in the quarter. Demand for flat rolled products was weak due to declines in oil and gas, and in aerospace, inventory channels were filled in the first quarter, leaving less demand for the second quarter.
Now what: There's not a lot of positive news here, and this was supposed to be when Allegheny turned around its operations. Analysts were expecting an increase in profits to $0.79 per share in 2015 and $2.15 per share in 2016. That's now in question after the second-quarter loss, and the decline in demand from the oil and gas industry isn't likely to slow anytime soon. I'd like to see a fundamental improvement before jumping into this manufacturer, because there are a lot of headwinds showing themselves right now.
