Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq: HERO) reported earnings on July 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Hercules Offshore beat expectations on revenue and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved and GAAP loss per share improved.

Gross margins contracted, operating margins improved, and net margins shrank.

Revenue details
Hercules Offshore logged revenue of $179.0 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see sales of $175.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $170.2 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 -$0.12. The 17 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.10 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.35 for Q2 against -$0.18 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 32.3%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.0%, 730 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -30.8%, 1,700 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $189.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.07.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $708.2 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.41.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,573 members out of 1,640 rating the stock outperform, and 67 members rating it underperform. Among 323 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 312 give Hercules Offshore a green thumbs-up, and 11 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Hercules Offshore is outperform, with an average price target of $6.22.

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