TXU Under Fire: Fool by Numbers

On Nov. 9, TXU (NYSE: TXU  ) released third-quarter earnings for the period ended Sept. 30, 2006.

• Earnings per share from continuing operations jumped a healthy 85%, on a scant 6% increase in sales.
• A Wall Street Journal article today reports that the Dallas-based electric supplier drew scathing comments from some Texas legislators during a hearing. One lawmaker accused the firm of "abusing" customers with high prices. CEO C. John Wilder disputed that remark.
• The article says regulatory controls for TXU will cease at the end of this year, and lawmakers are concerned the company will hike prices.
• In the relatively milder world of Motley Fool CAPS, the stock carries a three-star rating.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Sales	$3,510	$3,314	5.9%
Net Profit*	$984	$571	72.3%
EPS*	$2.15	$1.16	85.3%
Diluted Shares	466	489	(4.7%)

*From continuing operations.

Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.

Margin Checkup

	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	55.9%	39.8%	16.1
Operating Margin	49.8%	33.7%	16.1
Net Margin	28.0%	17.2%	10.8

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$24	$255	(90.6%)
Accounts Rec.	$1,123	$1,325	(15.2%)
Inventory	$380	$405	(6.2%)

Liabilities	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$908	$1,085	(16.3%)
Long-Term Debt	$10,721	$11,318	(5.3%)

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

	YTD 2006	YTD 2005	Change
Cash From Ops.	$4,045	$2,055	96.8%
Capital Expenditures	$1,409	$735	91.7%
Free Cash Flow	$2,636	$1,320	99.7%

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

• Dominion Resources (NYSE: D  )
• Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK  )
• Southern Company (NYSE: SO  )
• FPL Group (NYSE: FPL  )

Related Foolishness:

• Duke Energy Droops: Fool by Numbers
• Duke's Less Than Princely Results

TXU, Southern Company, and Duke Energy areIncome Investorselections.For more great stocks that pay great dividends, take a30-day free trial of the newsletter.

Fool by Numbers is designed to give you the raw earnings information in a timely fashion, putting all the numbers you need in one easy-to-read place. But at The Motley Fool, we believe numbers tell only part of the story, so checkFool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean. This data has been provided by Netscribes. To provide feedback on this article, please click on the "feedback" button below.