IPC The Hospitalist (Nasdaq: IPCM) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), IPC The Hospitalist beat slightly on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
IPC The Hospitalist logged revenue of $129.8 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $128.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $113.4 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 $0.50. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.49 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.50 for Q1 were 8.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.46 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 26.7%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.6%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.6%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $128.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.46.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $523.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.00.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 70 members out of 75 rating the stock outperform, and five members rating it underperform. Among 16 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 16 give IPC The Hospitalist a green thumbs-up, and none give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on IPC The Hospitalist is outperform, with an average price target of $39.50.

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