American Water Works (NYSE: AWK) reported earnings on Aug. 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), American Water Works beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
American Water Works booked revenue of $745.6 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for a top line of $711.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $674.2 million.

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

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.66. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.49 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.61 for Q2 were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.48 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.06 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 56.1%, 540 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 36.3%, 650 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.4%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $824.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.82.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.90 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.17.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 233 members out of 246 rating the stock outperform, and 13 members rating it underperform. Among 47 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 45 give American Water Works a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American Water Works is outperform, with an average price target of $36.04.

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