Atmel (Nasdaq: ATML) reported earnings on Nov. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Atmel missed slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Atmel notched revenue of $361.0 million. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see net sales of $367.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $479.4 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 $0.10. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.09 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.05 for Q3 were 80% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.25 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 43.1%, 700 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.6%, 1,490 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.0%, 1,830 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $381.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.12.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.37.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 388 members out of 424 rating the stock outperform, and 36 members rating it underperform. Among 77 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 70 give Atmel a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Atmel is outperform, with an average price target of $7.21.

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