Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) reported earnings on Feb. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Feb. 1 (Q4), Lowe's beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins grew, operating margins dropped, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
 Lowe's reported revenue of $11.05 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $10.83 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $11.63 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 $0.26. The 25 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.23 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q4 were 4.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.25 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 34.3%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.1%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.6%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $13.31 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.52.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $51.63 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.08.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,141 members out of 2,433 rating the stock outperform, and 292 members rating it underperform. Among 722 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 671 give Lowe's a green thumbs-up, and 51 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Lowe's is hold, with an average price target of $36.78.

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