BJ's Restaurants (Nasdaq: BJRI) reported earnings on April 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 3 (Q1), BJ's Restaurants met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins contracted, operating margins dropped, and net margins increased.

Revenue details
BJ's Restaurants logged revenue of $167.6 million. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $168.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $144.9 million.

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

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.30. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.31 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.30 for Q1 were 20% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.25 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 19.8%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.1%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.1%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $180.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.33.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $715.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.30.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 193 members out of 244 rating the stock outperform, and 51 members rating it underperform. Among 85 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 68 give BJ's Restaurants a green thumbs-up, and 17 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on BJ's Restaurants is outperform, with an average price target of $56.69.

Over the decades, small-cap stocks like BJ's Restaurants have produced 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.