The third-quarter earnings season kicked off Tuesday, with Alcoa (NYSE: AA) announcing before the bell.

According to FactSet, Q3 earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to drop 2.1%, which would mark the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines.

This would be an improvement from the 3.5% drop in earnings in the second quarter, though. And while I have voiced my concerns about what the current earnings recession means for the broader market going forward, there's no denying that the upcoming earnings season will present plenty of opportunity for traders to make quick, outsized profits.