General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is expected to report Q3 earnings on March 20. 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 Mills's revenues will expand 5.7% and EPS will grow 3.6%.

The average estimate for revenue is $4.36 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.57.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, General Mills notched revenue of $4.88 billion. GAAP reported sales were 5.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $4.62 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 $0.86. GAAP EPS of $0.82 for Q2 were 22% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.67 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 36.0%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.4%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.1%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $17.63 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.68.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,122 members out of 1,187 rating the stock outperform, and 65 members rating it underperform. Among 356 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 344 give General Mills a green thumbs-up, and 12 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on General Mills is outperform, with an average price target of $42.26.

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