Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 3 (Q1), Cheesecake Factory met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins improved, operating margins dropped, and net margins shrank.

Revenue details
Cheesecake Factory booked revenue of $435.8 million. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $440.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $418.8 million.

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 $0.37. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.36 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.37 for Q1 were 8.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.34 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 42.5%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.9%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.8%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $458 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.49.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.83 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.86.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 505 members rating the stock outperform and 136 members rating it underperform. Among 198 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 174 give Cheesecake Factory a green thumbs-up, and 24 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cheesecake Factory is outperform, with an average price target of $33.06.

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