Acxiom (Nasdaq: ACXM) reported earnings on Jan. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q3), Acxiom missed estimates on revenue and met expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Acxiom booked revenue of $280.9 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $307.0 million. Sales were 6.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $299.1 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.21. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.21 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.10 for Q3 were 60% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.25 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 23.3%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.9%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.8%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $280.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.17.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.12 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.74.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 58 members out of 84 rating the stock outperform, and 26 members rating it underperform. Among 24 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 20 give Acxiom a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Acxiom is outperform, with an average price target of $16.00.

Is Acxiom playing the right part in the new technology revolution? Computers, mobile devices, and related services are creating huge amounts of valuable data, but only for companies that can crunch the numbers and make sense of it. Meet the leader in this field in our free report: "The Only Stock You Need To Profit From the NEW Technology Revolution." Click here for instant access to this free report.