Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL) reported earnings on Oct. 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Aug. 31 (Q4), Apollo Group met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Apollo Group notched revenue of $996.5 million. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $1.01 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.12 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 $0.52. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.49 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.67 for Q4 were 51% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.38 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 54.3%, 660 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.9%, 1,090 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.6%, 920 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.03 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.92.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.78 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.63.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 808 members out of 953 rating the stock outperform, and 145 members rating it underperform. Among 236 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 182 give Apollo Group a green thumbs-up, and 54 give it a red thumbs-down.