Green Plains Renewable Energy (Nasdaq: GPRE) reported earnings on July 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Green Plains Renewable Energy beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 Green Plains Renewable Energy chalked up revenue of $804.7 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $793.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $870.4 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 $0.19. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.16 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.19 for Q2 against -$0.25 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 4.1%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.3%, 240 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.7%, 160 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $752.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.08 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.80.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 92 members out of 144 rating the stock outperform, and 52 members rating it underperform. Among 40 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 22 give Green Plains Renewable Energy a green thumbs-up, and 18 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Green Plains Renewable Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $14.58.

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