ATLANTA — Home Depot today reported earnings of $1.54 billion in its fiscal third quarter.

On a per-share basis, the Atlanta-based company said it had profit of $1.15.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.13 per share.

The home-improvement retailer posted revenue of $20.52 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Analysts expected $20.42 billion, according to Zacks.

Home Depot expects full-year earnings to be $4.54 per share.

Home Depot shares have risen 19 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 10 percent. The stock has climbed 22 percent in the last 12 months.

HELSINKI — Nokia is back in the fray.Just months after selling its ailing handsets unit to Microsoft, the Finnish company is launching a tablet.The new offering operates Android instead of the Windows software that Nokia adopted on its cellphones when it started a strategic partnership with Microsoft in 2011.The 7.9-inch N1 tablet will first be available in China in the first quarter of 2015 with an approximate price tag of $250, before being introduced to other markets.Sebastian Nystrom from Nokia's technologies unit said Tuesday that the former global mobile phone leader was “pleased to bring the Nokia brand back into consumers' hands.”Nokia's earnings have improved since its $7.2 billion sale of its handset unit to Microsoft. The slimmed-down company has three remaining operations: networks, mapping and software.

MILAN — The European car market continued its recovery in October, recording a 6.5 percent increase in sales to 1,072,837 units.It was the 14th straight month of growth and the European car maker's association on Tuesday said that most major markets experienced substantial growth. Spain grew by 26 percent, Britain by 14 percent and Italy, despite the continuing recession, by more than 9 percent. Powerhouse Germany saw a more modest increase of 3.7 percent.