American Public Education (Nasdaq: APEI) reported earnings on May 10. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), American Public Education beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins grew, operating margins shrank, and net margins contracted.

Revenue details
American Public Education booked revenue of $75.8 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $74.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 29% higher than the prior-year quarter's $58.7 million.

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

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.50. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.47 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.50 for Q1 were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.43 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 63.3%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.6%, 270 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 12.0%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $74.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.49.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $314.2 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.31.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 260 members out of 273 rating the stock outperform, and 13 members rating it underperform. Among 99 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 96 give American Public Education a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American Public Education is outperform, with an average price target of $47.45.

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