Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) reported earnings on Oct. 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Choice Hotels International beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Choice Hotels International booked revenue of $210.4 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $202.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $192.3 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 $0.77. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.63 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.76 for Q3 were 7.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.71 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 43.0%, 230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 31.0%, 170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 21.1%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $173.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $676.2 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.94.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 68 members out of 88 rating the stock outperform, and 20 members rating it underperform. Among 39 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 31 give Choice Hotels International a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Choice Hotels International is hold, with an average price target of $33.87.

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