Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE: RBA) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared with the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share increased.

Gross margins expanded, operating margins grew, net margins shrank.

Revenue details
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers tallied revenue of $101.3 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for net sales of $98.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $88.5 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 $0.17. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.17 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.17 for Q1 were 6.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.16 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 90.0%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 27.5%, 560 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 17.7%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $139.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.37.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $456.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.93.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 149 members out of 157 rating the stock outperform, and eight members rating it underperform. Among 50 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 47 give Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is outperform, with an average price target of $24.69.

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