Life Technologies (Nasdaq: LIFE) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Life Technologies reported revenue of $939.0 million. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $921.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $895.9 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 $0.99. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.93 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.72 for Q1 were 44% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.50 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 66.6%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 22.5%, 310 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.1%, 360 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $943.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.96.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.82 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.00.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 202 members out of 213 rating the stock outperform, and 11 members rating it underperform. Among 72 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 68 give Life Technologies 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 Life Technologies is outperform, with an average price target of $55.26.