A. M. Castle (NYSE: CAS) reported earnings on July 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), A. M. Castle missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 A. M. Castle tallied revenue of $273.4 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see net sales of $296.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 17% lower than the prior-year quarter's $329.4 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.02. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.09 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.02 for Q2 were 82% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.11 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.16 for Q2 against -$0.13 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 13.2%, 210 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.9%, 180 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -1.4%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $303.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.06.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.19 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.42.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 159 members out of 173 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 54 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 51 give A. M. Castle a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on A. M. Castle is outperform, with an average price target of $18.00.

Steel is for real, but gold is shiny and increaingly popular as a hedge among those who fear inflation. Should you move beyond A. M. Castle and look into a precious metal play? Find out how Motley Fool Analysts think you can profit from inflation and gold with a little-known company we profile in, "The Tiny Gold Stock Digging Up Massive Profits." Click here for instant access to this free report.