General Electric (NYSE: GE) reported earnings on Nov. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), General Electric missed slightly on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins contracted, operating margins grew, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 General Electric reported revenue of $36.35 billion. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $36.97 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 2.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $35.36 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 $0.36. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.37 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.33 for Q3 were 50% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.22 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 36.2%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.6%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.6%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $39.54 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.44.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $147.50 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.51.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 15,431 members out of 16,476 rating the stock outperform, and 1,045 members rating it underperform. Among 3,082 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 2,925 give General Electric a green thumbs-up, and 157 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 $23.75.

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