GeoEye (Nasdaq: GEOY) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
GeoEye notched revenue of $89.3 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $85.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $86.6 million.

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

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.58. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.51 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.58 for Q1 were 32% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.44 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 65.9%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 28.8%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 17.6%, 350 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $90.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.56.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $364.7 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.22.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 475 members out of 489 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 132 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 127 give GeoEye a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on GeoEye is outperform, with an average price target of $28.33.

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