Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) reported earnings on March 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped slightly. Non-GAAP earnings per share contracted significantly. GAAP earnings per share shrank to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Amedisys logged revenue of $362.9 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $373.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $0.23. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.22 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.23 for Q4 were 53% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.49 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.10 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS were -$3.52 for Q4 compared to $0.15 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 43.2%, 230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.0%, 350 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -29.4%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $374.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.19.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.52 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.78.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 816 members out of 903 rating the stock outperform, and 87 members rating it underperform. Among 214 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 186 give Amedisys a green thumbs-up, and 28 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Amedisys is hold, with an average price target of $11.00.

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