Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (NYSE: SQM) reported earnings on March 5. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile beat expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased. GAAP earnings per share dropped.

Gross margins grew, operating margins dropped, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
 Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile reported revenue of $601.0 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $582.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $538.9 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 $0.54. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.59 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.54 for Q4 were 10.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.60 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 47.3%, 720 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 33.6%, 670 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 23.6%, 590 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $618.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.66.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.60 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.73.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,419 members out of 1,447 rating the stock outperform, and 28 members rating it underperform. Among 245 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 239 give Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile is outperform, with an average price target of $63.04.

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