Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE) reported earnings on March 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Clean Energy Fuels crushed expectations on revenue and missed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Clean Energy Fuels logged revenue of $86.2 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for a top line of $63.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $83.2 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.21. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.16 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.29 for Q4 against $0.18 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 22.8%, 1,680 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -17.8%, 3,170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -24.3%, 4,090 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $74.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.23.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $345.7 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.73.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,252 members out of 1,295 rating the stock outperform, and 43 members rating it underperform. Among 265 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 257 give Clean Energy Fuels a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Clean Energy Fuels is outperform, with an average price target of $15.80.

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