Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) reported earnings on Feb. 4. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Anadarko Petroleum beat slightly on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
 Anadarko Petroleum reported revenue of $3.41 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $3.36 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.54 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 $0.91. The 25 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.72 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.40 for Q4 versus -$0.72 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 79.5%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.4%, 2,470 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.0%, 1,610 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.54 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.86.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $14.86 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.12.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,444 members out of 1,491 rating the stock outperform, and 47 members rating it underperform. Among 338 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 331 give Anadarko Petroleum 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 Anadarko Petroleum is outperform, with an average price target of $98.02.

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