Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG) reported earnings on Oct. 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Intuitive Surgical met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins shrank, operating margins shrank, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 Intuitive Surgical reported revenue of $537.8 million. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see a top line of $535.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 20% higher than the prior-year quarter's $446.7 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 $3.54. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $3.52 per share. GAAP EPS of $4.46 for Q3 were 46% higher than the prior-year quarter's $3.05 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 72.5%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 39.3%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 34.1%, 670 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $587.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $4.03.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.16 billion. The average EPS estimate is $14.83.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 4,145 members out of 4,347 rating the stock outperform, and 202 members rating it underperform. Among 1,197 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,155 give Intuitive Surgical a green thumbs-up, and 42 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Intuitive Surgical is hold, with an average price target of $562.42.