Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Jan. 22. 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 increase 6.6% and EPS will drop -17.8%.

The average estimate for revenue is $565.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.83.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Kansas City Southern booked revenue of $577.4 million. GAAP reported sales were 6.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $544.5 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, EPS came in at $0.82. GAAP EPS of $0.82 for Q3 were 9.9% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.91 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 39.9%, 240 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 31.3%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.6%, 270 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.24 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.23.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 437 members out of 450 rating the stock outperform, and 13 members rating it underperform. Among 121 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 120 give Kansas City Southern a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Kansas City Southern is hold, with an average price target of $80.94.

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