Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV) reported earnings on Nov. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share shrank.

Gross margins dropped, operating margins expanded, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
 Carriage Services booked revenue of $49.5 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $49.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $44.1 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 $0.16. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.15 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.03 for Q3 were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.04 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 28.1%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.1%, 440 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.2%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $50.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.21.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $202.2 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.76.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 94 members out of 101 rating the stock outperform, and seven members rating it underperform. Among 19 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 19 give Carriage Services a green thumbs-up, and give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Carriage Services is buy, with an average price target of $10.25.