Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) reported earnings on July 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Alliance Data Systems met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Alliance Data Systems tallied revenue of $1.03 billion. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $1.03 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $866.5 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $2.41. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $2.30 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $2.41 for Q2 were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.13 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.71 for Q2 were 4.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.63 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 31.4%, 410 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 26.2%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.3%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.07 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $2.66.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.28 billion. The average EPS estimate is $9.96.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 197 members out of 231 rating the stock outperform, and 34 members rating it underperform. Among 76 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 70 give Alliance Data Systems a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Alliance Data Systems is outperform, with an average price target of $186.16.

Is Alliance Data Systems playing the right part in the new technology revolution? Computers, mobile devices, and related services are creating huge amounts of valuable data, but only for companies that can crunch the numbers and make sense of it. Meet the leader in this field in "The Only Stock You Need To Profit From the NEW Technology Revolution." Click here for instant access to this free report.