Ascena Retail Group (Nasdaq: ASNA) reported earnings on Dec. 6. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Oct. 27 (Q1), Ascena Retail Group met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
 Ascena Retail Group reported revenue of $1.14 billion. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see net sales of $1.14 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 48% higher than the prior-year quarter's $768.3 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 $0.39. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.34 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.27 for Q1 were 10.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.30 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 59.4%, 220 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.8%, 220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.8%, 240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.30 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.91 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.56.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 240 members out of 267 rating the stock outperform, and 27 members rating it underperform. Among 79 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 76 give Ascena Retail Group a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ascena Retail Group is outperform, with an average price target of $26.33.

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