Trimble Navigation Limited (Nasdaq: TRMB) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Trimble Navigation Limited beat expectations on revenues and earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Trimble Navigation Limited booked revenue of $502.3 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $477.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 31% higher than the prior-year quarter's $384.3 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 $0.68. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.62 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.40 for Q1 were 25% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.32 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 54.2%, 420 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.0%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.1%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $495.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.67.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.49.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 406 members out of 427 rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 96 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 88 give Trimble Navigation Limited a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Trimble Navigation Limited is outperform, with an average price target of $58.79.