J. C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) is expected to report Q1 earnings on May 13. 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 J. C. Penney's revenues will wither -14.3% and EPS will remain in the red.

The average estimate for revenue is $2.70 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.93.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, J. C. Penney reported revenue of $3.88 billion. GAAP reported sales were 28% lower than the prior-year quarter's $5.43 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 -$1.95. GAAP EPS were -$2.51 for Q4 against -$0.41 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 23.8%, 640 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -16.5%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -14.2%, much worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $12.31 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$2.82.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 694 members out of 1,078 rating the stock outperform, and 384 members rating it underperform. Among 261 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 165 give J. C. Penney a green thumbs-up, and 96 give it a red thumbs-down.

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