United States Steel (NYSE: X) reported earnings on Oct. 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins contracted, net margins expanded.

Revenue details
 United States Steel recorded revenue of $4.65 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $4.64 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.4% lower than the prior-year quarter's $5.08 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 $0.14. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.00 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.28 for Q3 were 87% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.15 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 7.3%, 300 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.3%, 310 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.9%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.55 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.03.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $19.45 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.08.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,959 members out of 2,116 rating the stock outperform, and 157 members rating it underperform. Among 448 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 408 give United States Steel a green thumbs-up, and 40 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on United States Steel is hold, with an average price target of $28.03.

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