Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 1 (Q1), Ball met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Ball chalked up revenue of $2.04 billion. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $2.04 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.01 billion.

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 $0.63. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.59 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.55 for Q1 were 3.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.53 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 17.4%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.1%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.3%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.36 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.88.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.92 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.11.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 238 members out of 250 rating the stock outperform, and 12 members rating it underperform. Among 86 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 83 give Ball 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 Ball is outperform, with an average price target of $42.90.