Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) reported earnings on Oct. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Illinois Tool Works missed slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
 Illinois Tool Works reported revenue of $4.50 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $4.57 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $4.58 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 $1.09. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.06 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.12 for Q3 were 7.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.04 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.04 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 36.6%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.0%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.6%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.37 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.98.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $18.16 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.12.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 755 members out of 781 rating the stock outperform, and 26 members rating it underperform. Among 232 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 228 give Illinois Tool Works a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Illinois Tool Works is outperform, with an average price target of $60.57.

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