General Electric (NYSE: GE) is expected to report Q3 earnings around Oct. 18. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict General Electric's revenues will grow 4.2% and EPS will increase 19.4%.

The average estimate for revenue is $36.87 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.37.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, General Electric logged revenue of $36.50 billion. GAAP reported sales were 2.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $35.62 billion.

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

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.38. GAAP EPS of $0.29 for Q2 were 17% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.35 per share.

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

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 35.4%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.1%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.5%, 210 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $144.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.54.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 15,406 members out of 16,449 rating the stock outperform, and 1,043 members rating it underperform. Among 3,053 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 2,895 give General Electric a green thumbs-up, and 158 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on General Electric is outperform, with an average price target of $22.12.

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