Home Depot (NYSE: HD) reported earnings on Nov. 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Oct. 28 (Q3), Home Depot beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins increased, operating margins expanded, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Home Depot logged revenue of $18.13 billion. The 25 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $17.91 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $17.33 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 $0.74. The 27 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.71 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.63 for Q3 were 5.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.60 per share.

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 34.6%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.6%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.2%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $17.53 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.61.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $73.82 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.00.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,387 members out of 4,325 rating the stock outperform, and 938 members rating it underperform. Among 1,183 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,026 give Home Depot 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 Home Depot is outperform, with an average price target of $59.88.

If you're invested in retailers like Home Depot, you should check out the concept that is The Motley Fool's top stock for 2012. Its founder wrote the book on big box retailing, and it's growing in increasingly important international markets. Click here for instant access to this free report.