General Cable (NYSE: BGC) reported earnings on July 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 28 (Q2), General Cable missed estimates on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins were steady, operating margins contracted, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
 General Cable reported revenue of $1.65 billion. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated net sales of $1.71 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.48 billion.

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 $0.69. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.55 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.69 for Q2 were 6.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.74 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.24 for Q2 were 44% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.43 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 11.7%, much about the same as the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.4%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.7%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.80 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.81.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.79 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.32.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 605 members out of 632 rating the stock outperform, and 27 members rating it underperform. Among 143 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 139 give General Cable a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on General Cable is buy, with an average price target of $39.70.

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