Melco Crown Entertainment (Nasdaq: MPEL) reported earnings on May 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Melco Crown Entertainment booked revenue of $1.14 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $1.11 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.03 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 $0.24. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.24 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.24 for Q1 were 4.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.23 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.10 for Q1 were 55% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.22 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 28.6%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.7%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.7%, 720 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.04 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.21.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.51 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.96.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,292 members out of 1,348 rating the stock outperform, and 56 members rating it underperform. Among 350 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 337 give Melco Crown Entertainment a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Melco Crown Entertainment is outperform, with an average price target of $24.40.

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