United States Cellular (NYSE: USM) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), United States Cellular met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank slightly. GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 United States Cellular chalked up revenue of $1.08 billion. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $1.10 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 $0.06. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.05 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.06 for Q1 were 92% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.73 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 57.7%, 380 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.3%, 630 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.5%, 520 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.08 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.15.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.16 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.24.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 36 members out of 59 rating the stock outperform, and 23 members rating it underperform. Among 15 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 10 give United States Cellular a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on United States Cellular is hold, with an average price target of $38.14.

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