Central Garden & Pet (Nasdaq: CENT) reported earnings on Dec. 11. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 29 (Q4), Central Garden & Pet beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP loss per share shrank.

Gross margins expanded, operating margins shrank, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 Central Garden & Pet booked revenue of $397.2 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $373.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $376.9 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 -$0.21. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.21 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.21 for Q4 against -$0.22 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 26.5%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -2.1%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -2.5%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $310.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.73 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.84.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 112 members out of 132 rating the stock outperform, and 20 members rating it underperform. Among 49 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 41 give Central Garden & Pet a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

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