Alcoa Beat Earnings Estimates Because of China: Analyst

You won't believe what helped Alcoa (AA) - Get Report beat second quarter earnings estimates on both the top and bottom lines: strong demand from China. That's the assessment from Morningstar analyst Andrew Lane. 'I think Alcoa's exposure to China was one of the few factors that lead to the earnings beat,' he said. 'Aluminum demand growth in China through May increased 5.1 percent based on our data.' He attributes the growth in demand through stimulus measures by the government, as opposed to organic economic growth. Lane expects aluminum demand growth in China to grow at two percent annually through 2020. On Monday, Alcoa reported adjusted earnings of $0.15 a share, beating estimates of $0.09. Revenue of $5.3 billion also topped forecasts, but fell 10 percent year-over-year. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.