American Railcar Industries (Nasdaq: ARII) reported earnings on May 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 American Railcar Industries booked revenue of $181.6 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $157.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $84.8 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 $0.56. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.27 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.56 for Q1 compared to -$0.25 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 16.7%, 1,090 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.1%, 1,540 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.6%, 1,290 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $177.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.52.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $716.2 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.16.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 217 members out of 250 rating the stock outperform, and 33 members rating it underperform. Among 71 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 65 give American Railcar Industries a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American Railcar Industries is outperform, with an average price target of $29.00.

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