Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 25 (Q1), Cedar Fair beat slightly on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved and GAAP loss per share shrank.

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

Revenue details
 Cedar Fair logged revenue of $28.2 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $27.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $26.9 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 -$1.32. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.99 per share. GAAP EPS were -$1.18 for Q1 versus -$1.53 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 -167.3%, 960 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -244.7%, 490 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -231.2%, 8,400 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $295.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.34.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.07 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.28.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 347 members out of 425 rating the stock outperform, and 78 members rating it underperform. Among 111 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 93 give Cedar Fair a green thumbs-up, and 18 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cedar Fair is buy, with an average price target of $34.00.

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