Aéropostale (NYSE: ARO) reported earnings on May 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 28 (Q1), Aéropostale beat expectations on revenue and met expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Aéropostale booked revenue of $497.2 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $460.6 million on the same basis. GAAP-reported sales were 6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $469.2 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 $0.13. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.13 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.13 for Q1 were 35% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.20 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 28%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 3.4%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.1%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $489.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.05.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.48 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.28.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 968 members rating the stock outperform and 67 members rating it underperform. Among 277 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 264 give Aéropostale a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Aéropostale is outperform, with an average price target of $20.71.

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