Waters (NYSE: WAT) reported earnings on Oct. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 29 (Q3), Waters met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Waters reported revenue of $450.0 million. The 16 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected net sales of $450.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $454.5 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 $1.18. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.18 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.12 for Q3 were 1.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.10 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 59.4%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 27.1%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 22.0%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $523.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.59.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.85 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.93.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 315 members out of 330 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 93 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 90 give Waters a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Waters is outperform, with an average price target of $86.47.