Madison Square Garden (Nasdaq: MSG) reported earnings on Nov. 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q1), Madison Square Garden met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and GAAP earnings per share contracted.

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

Revenue details
 Madison Square Garden notched revenue of $204.2 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $202.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $177.6 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 $0.26. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.21 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q1 were 7.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.28 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 64.4%, 460 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.7%, 490 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.1%, 190 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $467.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.58.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.37 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.39.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 100 members out of 114 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 26 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 20 give Madison Square Garden a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Madison Square Garden is outperform, with an average price target of $43.86.