Golf Clap for McDonald's

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) reported earnings on April 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), McDonald's met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
McDonald's reported revenue of $6.61 billion. The 25 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $6.58 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $1.26. The 29 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.26 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.26 for Q1 were 2.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.23 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 37.6%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 29.5%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 19.2%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $7.13 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.41.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $28.59 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.72.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 5,932 members out of 6,241 rating the stock outperform, and 309 members rating it underperform. Among 1,604 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,557 give McDonald's a green thumbs-up, and 47 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on McDonald's is outperform, with an average price target of $101.50.

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