Nielsen Holdings (NYSE: NLSN) reported earnings on April 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Nielsen Holdings met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
 Nielsen Holdings booked revenue of $1.38 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $1.38 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $0.38. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.36 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.38 for Q1 were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.30 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.09 for Q1 were 29% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.07 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 56.9%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.0%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.5%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.46 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.52.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.84 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.16.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 20 members out of 25 rating the stock outperform, and five members rating it underperform. Among five CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), five give Nielsen Holdings a green thumbs-up, and give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Nielsen Holdings is outperform, with an average price target of $36.38.

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