Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO) reported earnings on Oct. 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Diamond Offshore Drilling met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Diamond Offshore Drilling booked revenue of $729.1 million. The 16 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for sales of $735.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% lower than the prior-year quarter's $861.5 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 $1.28. The 27 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $1.02 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.28 for Q3 were 31% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.85 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 51.0%, 360 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 33.5%, 710 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 24.4%, 540 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $740.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.07.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.98 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.37.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,946 members out of 1,991 rating the stock outperform, and 45 members rating it underperform. Among 419 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 404 give Diamond Offshore Drilling a green thumbs-up, and 15 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Diamond Offshore Drilling is hold, with an average price target of $72.17.

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