Alcoa whiffs on earnings

Alcoa reported second quarter earnings after the close on Wednesday, beating expectations on revenues but missing on earnings.

The aluminum giant posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.19, missing the consensus estimate for $0.22 according to Bloomberg.

Sales came in at $5.9 billion, versus the forecast for $5.81.

"We continue to transform Alcoa; our portfolio reshaping combined with smart investments in growth markets is delivering strong results," said CEO Klaus Kleinfeld in the statement.

Alcoa shares closed down more than 5% on Wednesday and was higher but little changed in early after-hours trading.

Alcoa's earnings announcement unofficially kicks off the second quarter reporting season.

Wall Street is not expecting earnings or revenue growth from the S&P 500 until at least the final quarter of the year. And ahead of second-quarter-earnings season, expectations are that overall S&P 500 earnings will actually be lower than they were in the first quarter.

More to come ...