Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) reported earnings on Aug. 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 30 (Q4), Cardinal Health missed slightly on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
 Cardinal Health logged revenue of $26.76 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $27.25 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 0.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $26.76 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 $0.73. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.73 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.67 for Q4 were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.57 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 4.2%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.6%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.9%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $26.19 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.80.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $100.09 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.45.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 440 members out of 481 rating the stock outperform, and 41 members rating it underperform. Among 141 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 135 give Cardinal Health 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 Cardinal Health is outperform, with an average price target of $48.68.

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