American Public Education (Nasdaq: APEI) reported earnings on Tuesday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), American Public Education beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly, and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.

Gross margins improved, operating margins dropped, and net margins grew.

Revenue details
American Public Education reported revenue of $75.7 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $72.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 34% higher than the prior-year quarter's $56.3 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.71. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.60 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.71 for Q4 were 37% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.52 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 65.4%, 170 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 26.2%, 190 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 17.2%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $74.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $317.1 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.45.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 250 members rating the stock outperform, and 12 members rating it underperform. Among 108 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 105 give American Public Education a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American Public Education is outperform, with an average price target of $45.89.

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