Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN) reported earnings on Thursday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins expanded, and net margins grew.

Revenue details
Cerner booked revenue of $641.2 million. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $578.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 30% higher than the prior-year quarter's $491.7 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 $0.54. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.50 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.51 for Q1 were 34% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.38 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 75.4%, 620 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.9%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 13.8%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $615.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.53 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.29.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 384 members rating the stock outperform and 42 members rating it underperform. Among 135 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 126 give Cerner a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cerner is outperform, with an average price target of $74.41.

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