Nordson (Nasdaq: NDSN) reported earnings on March 6. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 31 (Q1), Nordson met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margin increased, operating margin dropped, and net margin shrank.

Revenue details
Nordson booked revenue of $275.8 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $274.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $271.0 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.62. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.60 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.58 for Q1 was 13% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.67 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 61.4%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.8%, 340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 13.9%, 300 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $321.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.84.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.25 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.19.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 153 members rating the stock outperform and nine members rating it underperform. Among 45 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 43 give Nordson a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Nordson is hold, with an average price target of $48.40.