Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) reported earnings on May 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Tenet Healthcare beat 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.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Tenet Healthcare reported revenue of $2.54 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $2.49 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 2.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.48 billion.

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 $0.13. The 17 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.08 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.13 for Q1 were 7.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.14 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.02 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 41.6%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.3%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.5%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.38 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.06.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $9.68 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 353 members out of 421 rating the stock outperform, and 69 members rating it underperform. Among 77 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 60 give Tenet Healthcare a green thumbs-up, and 17 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Tenet Healthcare is hold, with an average price target of $6.17.

Over the decades, small-cap stocks, like Tenet Healthcare have provided market-beating returns, provided they're value priced and have solid businesses. Read about a pair of companies with a lock on their markets in "Too Small to Fail: Two Small Caps the Government Won't Let Go Broke." Click here for instant access to this free report.