SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK) reported earnings on Oct. 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), SanDisk beat 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 dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 SanDisk chalked up revenue of $1.27 billion. The 24 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $1.22 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.42 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 $0.48. The 24 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.34 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.31 for Q3 were 68% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.96 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 30.8%, 1,340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.4%, 1,690 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.0%, 1,050 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.50 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.64.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.97 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.85.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,911 members out of 2,060 rating the stock outperform, and 149 members rating it underperform. Among 403 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 375 give SanDisk a green thumbs-up, and 28 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on SanDisk is outperform, with an average price target of $45.84.

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