Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS) reported earnings on July 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Arkansas Best met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Arkansas Best reported revenue of $510.5 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $508.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 2.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $498.6 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 $0.18. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.16 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.44 for Q2 were 120% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.20 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 1.4%, 780 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.4%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.3%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $560.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.46.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.02 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.18.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 84 members rating the stock outperform and 18 members rating it underperform. Among 28 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 24 give Arkansas Best 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 Arkansas Best is hold, with an average price target of $18.95.