Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Feb. 3 (Q4), Lowe's beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved and GAAP earnings per share improved significantly.

Gross margins dropped, operating margins dropped, and net margins grew.

Revenue details
Lowe's logged revenue of $11.63 billion. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $11.35 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $10.48 billion.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.29. The 24 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.23 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q4 were 30% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.20 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 34.2%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.0%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.8%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $12.56 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.38.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $50.39 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.79.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,150 members out of 2,440 rating the stock outperform, and 290 members rating it underperform. Among 650 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 578 give Lowe's a green thumbs-up, and 72 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Lowe's is outperform, with an average price target of $27.04.

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