Patterson Companies (Nasdaq: PDCO) reported earnings on May 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 28 (Q4), Patterson Companies beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Patterson Companies reported revenue of $936.3 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $916.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $883.8 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 $0.61. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.56 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.58 for Q4 were 9.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.53 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 33.5%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.0%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.6%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $888.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.48.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.69 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.13.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 99 members out of 113 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 45 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 41 give Patterson Companies a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Patterson Companies is outperform, with an average price target of $35.00.

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