Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) reported earnings on Feb. 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Activision Blizzard beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Activision Blizzard chalked up revenue of $2.41 billion. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $2.21 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.43 billion.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.62. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.56 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were $0.08 for Q4 compared to -$0.20 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 48.7%, 1,010 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.8%, 650 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7%, 2,330 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $552.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.04.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.57 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.97.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 6,882 members rating the stock outperform and 202 members rating it underperform. Among 1,636 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,591 give Activision Blizzard a green thumbs-up, and 45 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Activision Blizzard is outperform, with an average price target of $16.06.

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