Pioneer Drilling (AMEX: PDC) reported earnings on May 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Pioneer Drilling logged revenue of $232.0 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $211.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 51% higher than the prior-year quarter's $153.3 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 $0.24. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.12 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.23 for Q1 against -$0.11 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 38.9%, 460 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.3%, 940 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.1%, 1,000 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $229.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.17.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $941.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.74.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 598 members out of 624 rating the stock outperform, and 26 members rating it underperform. Among 119 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 111 give Pioneer Drilling 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 Pioneer Drilling is outperform, with an average price target of $13.19.

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