Ascena Retail Group (Nasdaq: ASNA) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 28 (Q2), Ascena Retail Group beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Ascena Retail Group logged revenue of $862 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $828.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $752.2 million.

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 $0.81. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.67 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.81 for Q2 were 56% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.52 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 41.5%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.6%, 180 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.4%, 170 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $783.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.77.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.17 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.68.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 227 members rating the stock outperform and 30 members rating it underperform. Among 87 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 82 give Ascena Retail Group a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ascena Retail Group is outperform, with an average price target of $37.09.

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