General Electric (NYSE: GE) reported earnings on April 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), General Electric beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins shrank, operating margins expanded, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 General Electric chalked up revenue of $35.01 billion. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw sales of $34.57 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 $0.39. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.35 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.39 for Q1 were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.34 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.02 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS of $0.34 for Q1 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.29 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.02 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 11.8%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.8%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.1%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $36.44 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.38.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $145.08 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.67.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 15,523 members out of 16,568 rating the stock outperform, and 1,045 members rating it underperform. Among 3,132 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 2,974 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 $25.59.

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