Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) reported earnings on Feb. 5. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q2), Cardinal Health beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 Cardinal Health logged revenue of $25.23 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $24.61 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $27.08 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 $0.93. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.86 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.88 for Q2 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.75 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 4.9%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.1%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.2%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $24.52 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.97.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $99.36 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.45.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 443 members out of 484 rating the stock outperform, and 41 members rating it underperform. Among 170 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 161 give Cardinal Health a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cardinal Health is outperform, with an average price target of $46.37.

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