CluenexAlcoa AA
Alcoa scores average on business quality (4.9 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Alcoa does
Alcoa Corporation mines bauxite, refines alumina, and produces primary aluminum, selling globally to industrial customers who rely on these metals for packaging, transportation, and construction. The business converts raw earth into foundational industrial inputs through energy-intensive smelting and refining operations.
- What it does best
Alcoa operates as a pure-play global aluminum leader with deep vertical integration from bauxite mining to primary metal output. Its extensive asset footprint allows it to capture margin across the bauxite and alumina value chain, backed by a 19.2% return on equity that outpaces many basic materials peers.
- The main risk
Geopolitical friction and trade tensions surrounding Chinese overcapacity threaten global pricing dynamics for primary aluminum. Tariffs and shifting international trade policies directly expose commodity margins to sudden cost pressures and demand shocks.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 11.4% with a free cash flow margin of 21%. Profitability is expanding alongside higher revenue, though margins remain tied to fluctuating metal prices.
The company relies on heavy asset scale and bauxite reserves rather than a structural moat, sitting in the bottom quartile for gross margin at 18.8%. Rivals easily replicate commodity output.
Revenue grew 7.9% to reach $13.6B, marking a steady recovery from prior years where revenue hovered around $11.9B. The top line is expanding as pricing and volumes improve.
Total debt sits at $2.4B against $1.6B in cash, leaving net debt at $851M. Interest coverage of 12.9x means debt costs are easily managed. Free cash flow reached $352M, getting stronger.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
4 sold $1.3M outside pre-planned sales.
Our sealed record on AA
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Alcoa scores average on the Cluenex quality check (4.9 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat weak, growth slow and financial health strong.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 4 sold $1.3M outside pre-planned sales.
Oct 15, 2026, after the close.
See AA today
- Today's verdict on AA, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Alcoa (AA)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/aa/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.