Noble (NYSE: NE) reported earnings on April 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Noble met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins expanded, operating margins expanded, net margins shrank.

Revenue details
 Noble tallied revenue of $971.0 million. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $973.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $762.5 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 $0.59. The 31 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.51 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.59 for Q1 were 26% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.47 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 48.9%, 520 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 23.5%, 470 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.5%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.05 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.67.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.33 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.89.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,189 members out of 2,221 rating the stock outperform, and 32 members rating it underperform. Among 474 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 468 give Noble 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 Noble is outperform, with an average price target of $45.42.

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