Madison Square Garden (Nasdaq: MSG) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q3), Madison Square Garden beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
 Madison Square Garden booked revenue of $412.4 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $406.0 million 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 $0.49. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.32 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.49 for Q3 were 23% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.40 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 40.2%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.5%, 220 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.3%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $315.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.26.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.32 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.52.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 98 members out of 108 rating the stock outperform, and 10 members rating it underperform. Among 25 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 22 give Madison Square Garden a green thumbs-up, and three 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 $60.33.

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