FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped. GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly.

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

Revenue details
 FirstEnergy notched revenue of $3.70 billion. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $3.66 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.96 billion.

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 $0.76. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.69 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.76 for Q1 were 7.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.82 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.47 for Q1 were 36% 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 56.2%, 280 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.5%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.3%, 240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.14 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.52.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $15.67 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.00.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 360 members out of 386 rating the stock outperform, and 26 members rating it underperform. Among 81 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 74 give FirstEnergy a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on FirstEnergy is hold, with an average price target of $42.23.

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