Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA) reported earnings on April 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 27 (Q1), Panera Bread met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
 Panera Bread reported revenue of $498.6 million. The 18 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $500.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter's $422.1 million.

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 $1.40. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $1.35 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.40 for Q1 were 28% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.09 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 35.0%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.5%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.3%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $516.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.09 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.68.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,277 members out of 1,421 rating the stock outperform, and 144 members rating it underperform. Among 454 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 429 give Panera Bread a green thumbs-up, and 25 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Panera Bread is outperform, with an average price target of $164.89.