Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) reported earnings on Feb. 4. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Royal Caribbean Cruises met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
 Royal Caribbean Cruises chalked up revenue of $1.81 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $1.82 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.78 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 $0.10. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.05 per share. GAAP EPS were -$1.80 for Q4 versus $0.17 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 46.1%, 1,660 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.8%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -21.7%, 2,380 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.90 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.27.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.08 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.63.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 409 members out of 492 rating the stock outperform, and 83 members rating it underperform. Among 171 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 157 give Royal Caribbean Cruises a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Royal Caribbean Cruises is outperform, with an average price target of $37.19.

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