General Motors (NYSE: GM) reported earnings on Oct. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), General Motors beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased slightly and GAAP earnings per share contracted.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 General Motors reported revenue of $37.60 billion. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $35.83 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 2.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $36.72 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 $0.93. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.60 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.89 for Q3 were 14% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.03 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 12.1%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.5%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.9%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $39.36 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.52.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $150.89 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.04.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 817 members out of 1,035 rating the stock outperform, and 218 members rating it underperform. Among 207 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 152 give General Motors a green thumbs-up, and 55 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on General Motors is outperform, with an average price target of $30.98.

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