Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 19. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Kansas City Southern's revenues will grow 4.4% and EPS will grow 17.3%.

The average estimate for revenue is $571.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.88.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Kansas City Southern logged revenue of $568.4 million. GAAP reported sales were 7.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $530.3 million.

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

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.92. GAAP EPS of $0.84 for Q4 were 3.4% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.87 per share.

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

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 39.7%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 30.5%, 210 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.2%, 180 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.45 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.12.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 450 members out of 465 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 114 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 112 give Kansas City Southern a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Kansas City Southern is hold, with an average price target of $86.28.

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