Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Jan. 24. 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 Southwest Airlines's revenues will grow 2.5% and EPS will contract -11.1%.

The average estimate for revenue is $4.21 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.08.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Southwest Airlines booked revenue of $4.31 billion. GAAP reported sales were 0.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $4.31 billion.

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 $0.13. GAAP EPS were $0.02 for Q3 versus -$0.18 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 21.4%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.5%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.4%, 360 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $17.13 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,503 members out of 1,756 rating the stock outperform, and 253 members rating it underperform. Among 375 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 327 give Southwest Airlines a green thumbs-up, and 48 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Southwest Airlines is outperform, with an average price target of $11.49.

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