Waters (NYSE: WAT) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Waters missed estimates on revenues and earnings per share.

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Waters recorded revenue of $420.5 million. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $441.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $427.6 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 $1.00. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.09 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.98 for Q1 were 3.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.01 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 60.2%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 26.2%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 21.1%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $468.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.20.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.24.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 311 members out of 328 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 101 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 99 give Waters 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 Waters is outperform, with an average price target of $92.88.