General Mills (NYSE: GIS) reported earnings on March 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Feb. 24 (Q3), General Mills beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 General Mills recorded revenue of $4.43 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see a top line of $4.36 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $4.12 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 $0.64. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.57 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.64 for Q3 were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.55 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.60 for Q3 were 3.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.58 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 34.4%, 220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.6%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.0%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.33 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $17.68 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.69.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,124 members out of 1,188 rating the stock outperform, and 64 members rating it underperform. Among 370 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 359 give General Mills a green thumbs-up, and 11 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 $43.95.

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