Penn West Petroleum (NYSE: PWE) reported earnings on Aug. 10. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Penn West Petroleum crushed expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue was unchanged and GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly. The profit was a surprise, as analysts had predicted a loss.

Gross margins dropped, operating margins dropped, and net margins increased.

Revenue details
Penn West Petroleum logged revenue of $970.6 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $714.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $810.8 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 $0.49. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.05 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.49 for Q2 were 18% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.60 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 57.9%, 710 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.9%, 3,800 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 37.7%, 300 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $765.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.07.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.17 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.07.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,345 members out of 1,391 rating the stock outperform, and 46 members rating it underperform. Among 288 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 278 give Penn West Petroleum a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Penn West Petroleum is outperform, with an average price target of $24.45.

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