Denny's (Nasdaq: DENN) filed its 10-K on March 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 28 (Q4), Denny's met expectations on revenue and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Denny's notched revenue of $130.2 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $131.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.2% lower than the prior-year quarter's $135.9 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.96. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.08 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.95 for Q4 were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.02 per share.

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 35.6%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.2%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 70.7%, 6,870 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $127.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.06.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $503.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.29.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 411 members rating the stock outperform and 39 members rating it underperform. Among 111 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 106 give Denny's a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Denny's is buy, with an average price target of $5.14.

Over the decades, small-cap stocks like Denny's have provided market-beating returns, provided they're value-priced and have solid businesses. Read about a pair of companies with a lock on their markets in "Too Small to Fail: 2 Small Caps the Government Won't Let Go Broke." Click here for instant access to this free report.