Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE: BWC) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Babcock & Wilcox beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly. GAAP earnings per share contracted significantly.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Babcock & Wilcox logged revenue of $865.3 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see sales of $839.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $800.8 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 $0.45. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.42 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.45 for Q4 were 17% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.54 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.33 for Q4 were 39% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.54 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 22.1%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.5%, 290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.5%, 350 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $829.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.49.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.48 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.10.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 85 members out of 88 rating the stock outperform, and three members rating it underperform. Among 18 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 18 give Babcock & Wilcox a green thumbs-up, and give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Babcock & Wilcox is outperform, with an average price target of $30.39.

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