Hillshire Brands (NYSE: HSH) reported earnings on Nov. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 29 (Q1), Hillshire Brands 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 increased.

Gross margins contracted, operating margins contracted, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 Hillshire Brands logged revenue of $1.01 billion. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $1.00 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 48% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.94 billion.

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 $0.51. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.32 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.43 for Q1 compared to -$1.85 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 30.3%, 170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.3%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.2%, 1,640 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.08 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.47.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.08 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.50.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 280 members out of 351 rating the stock outperform, and 71 members rating it underperform. Among 83 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 63 give Hillshire Brands a green thumbs-up, and 20 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Hillshire Brands is hold, with an average price target of $28.13.