Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) reported earnings on Aug. 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended July 29 (Q3), Applied Materials beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Applied Materials tallied revenue of $2.34 billion. The 18 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $2.32 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 16% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.79 billion.

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 $0.24. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.22 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.17 for Q3 were 53% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 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 39.7%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.6%, 850 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.3%, 780 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.91 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.12.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.97 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.78.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,032 members out of 2,140 rating the stock outperform, and 108 members rating it underperform. Among 424 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 404 give Applied Materials a green thumbs-up, and 20 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Applied Materials is outperform, with an average price target of $13.24.

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