Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Jan. 31 (Q4), Wal-Mart met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew. GAAP earnings per share increased.

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

Revenue details
 Wal-Mart logged revenue of $127.10 billion. The 18 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $127.64 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $1.67. The 26 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.57 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.67 for Q4 were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.50 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 24.9%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.7%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.4%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $117.04 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.17.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $492.44 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.37.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 6,268 members out of 7,042 rating the stock outperform, and 774 members rating it underperform. Among 1,664 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,543 give Wal-Mart a green thumbs-up, and 121 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Wal-Mart is outperform, with an average price target of $76.72.

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