Aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) announced its earnings this afternoon after the market closed. The company revealed that in the period ending on the 31st September, it earned around three cents per share, excluding items. The company reported revenues of $5.83 billion for the same period. Including all items, the firm lost 15 cents in the period. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) is the first of the companies listed on the Dow Jones to report their earnings, and is usually seen as a proxy for the wider market's performance, early on in the earnings season.