Sonic Automotive (NYSE: SAH) reported earnings on April 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Sonic Automotive met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
 Sonic Automotive booked revenue of $1.99 billion. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $2.01 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.84 billion.

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 $0.30. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.33 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.32 for Q1 were 23% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.26 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 15.7%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.7%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.0%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.15 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.43.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.54 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.66.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 81 members out of 119 rating the stock outperform, and 38 members rating it underperform. Among 43 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 33 give Sonic Automotive a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Sonic Automotive is outperform, with an average price target of $19.63.

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