Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 17. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Kansas City Southern's revenues will improve 6.5% and EPS will grow 19.7%.

The average estimate for revenue is $569.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.85.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Kansas City Southern booked revenue of $547.5 million. 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
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.75. 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.

Recent performance
For the preceding 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
The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.31 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.47.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 420 members out of 434 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 103 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 101 give Kansas City Southern a green thumbs-up, and two 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.