Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 25. 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 expand 2.0% and EPS will turn positive

The average estimate for revenue is $4.07 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.03.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Southwest Airlines booked revenue of $4.17 billion. GAAP reported sales were 1.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $4.11 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 $0.09. GAAP EPS of $0.11 for Q4 were 45% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.20 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 20.7%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.5%, 240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.9%, 180 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $17.79 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.98.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,524 members out of 1,779 rating the stock outperform, and 255 members rating it underperform. Among 370 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 324 give Southwest Airlines a green thumbs-up, and 46 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 $11.82.

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