American Greetings (NYSE: AM) reported earnings on Sep. 28. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Aug. 24 (Q2), American Greetings missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP earnings per share shrank to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 American Greetings reported revenue of $393.8 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $432.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $368.8 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 $0.25. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.11 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.13 for Q2 compared to $0.35 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 55.1%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.5%, 630 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -1.1%, 500 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $533.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.56.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.90 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.13.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 124 members out of 197 rating the stock outperform, and 73 members rating it underperform. Among 68 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 46 give American Greetings a green thumbs-up, and 22 give it a red thumbs-down.

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