Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Jan. 3 (Q4), Cheesecake Factory beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
 Cheesecake Factory booked revenue of $477.7 million. The 24 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see a top line of $470.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $416.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.53. The 25 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.52 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.54 for Q4 were 50% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 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 42.2%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.3%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.3%, 110 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $442.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.36.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.83 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.84.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 504 members out of 642 rating the stock outperform, and 138 members rating it underperform. Among 203 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 179 give Cheesecake Factory a green thumbs-up, and 24 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cheesecake Factory is outperform, with an average price target of $31.10.

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