McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) reported earnings on Jan. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), McDonald's met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins shrank, operating margins grew, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
 McDonald's notched revenue of $6.95 billion. The 26 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $6.90 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $6.82 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 $1.38. The 29 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.33 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.38 for Q4 were 3.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.33 per share.

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 39.2%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 31.6%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 20.1%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $6.69 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.26.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $28.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.78.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 5,919 members out of 6,213 rating the stock outperform, and 294 members rating it underperform. Among 1,557 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,510 give McDonald's a green thumbs-up, and 47 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on McDonald's is outperform, with an average price target of $96.68.

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