Aéropostale (NYSE: ARO) reported earnings on March 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Feb. 2 (Q4), Aéropostale beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank slightly. Non-GAAP earnings per share contracted significantly. GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Aéropostale booked revenue of $797.7 million. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $779.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $0.24. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.22 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.24 for Q4 were 45% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.44 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.01 for Q4 versus $0.32 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 19.9%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.0%, 700 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.1%, 330 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $451.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.16.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.39 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.58.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 917 members out of 987 rating the stock outperform, and 70 members rating it underperform. Among 271 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 260 give Aéropostale a green thumbs-up, and 11 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Aéropostale is hold, with an average price target of $15.00.

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