American Greetings (NYSE: AM) reported earnings on Dec. 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Nov. 23 (Q3), American Greetings missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins expanded, operating margins dropped, net margins contracted.

Revenue details
 American Greetings reported revenue of $506.8 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for sales of $533.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $463.6 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 two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.55 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.03 for Q3 against $0.50 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 51.8%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.1%, 710 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.2%, 460 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $537.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.81.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.83 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.69.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 117 members out of 191 rating the stock outperform, and 74 members rating it underperform. Among 67 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 44 give American Greetings a green thumbs-up, and 23 give it a red thumbs-down.

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