Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 Kansas City Southern logged revenue of $547.5 million. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $542.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $488.6 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 $0.75. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.72 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.68 for Q1 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.58 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 37.7%, 220 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 28.8%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 13.7%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $593.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.90.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.34 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.53.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 425 members out of 440 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 108 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 105 give Kansas City Southern a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Kansas City Southern is outperform, with an average price target of $76.60.