Nucor (NYSE: NUE) reported earnings on April 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Nucor met expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Nucor recorded revenue of $5.07 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $5.04 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $4.83 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 $0.46. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.39 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.46 for Q1 were 8.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.50 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 7.5%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.4%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.9%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.31 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.76.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $20.81 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.75.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,148 members out of 2,231 rating the stock outperform, and 83 members rating it underperform. Among 576 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 561 give Nucor a green thumbs-up, and 15 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Nucor is outperform, with an average price target of $48.56.

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