Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International beat expectations on both revenue and earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly, while GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International tallied revenue of $856.1 million. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for sales of $796.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 52% higher than the prior-year quarter's $565 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 $1.14. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.96 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.04 for Q1 against $0.02 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 67.4%, 740 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.7%, 1,980 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -1.5%, 260 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $852.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.09.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.42 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.41.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 187 members rating the stock outperform and 23 members rating it underperform. Among 65 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 58 give Valeant Pharmaceuticals International a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is outperform, with an average price target of $60.59.

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