Wolverine Bites Back: Fool by Numbers

On Oct. 5, Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW  ) released earnings for its 2005 third quarter, which ended Sept. 10.

• Sales of $279.1 million fell a little short of Street expectations. But it didn't matter: EPS of $0.42 was up more than 12% over the last year's Q3 and also ahead of analyst estimates. Investors responded by bidding up the stock by more than 6%.
• Gross margin saw notable improvement, but it's still a few points below Wolverine's major competitors.
• Growth continued to slow sequentially, but the improving balance sheet -- the progress illustrated by a 26% reduction in long-term debt -- indicates good cash management. That could be good news for investors.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights (What's this?)

	Avg. Est.	Q3 2005	Q3 2004	% Change
Sales	$279,330	$279,116	$260,897	+7.0%
Net Profit	--	$24,634	$21,946	+12.2%
EPS	$0.41	$0.42	$0.37	+13.5%

Margin Checkup (What's this?)

	Q3 2005	Q3 2004	% Change
Gross Margin	38.93%	37.63%	+1.30%
Op. Margin	13.10%	12.64%	+0.46%
Net Margin	8.83%	8.41%	+0.41%

Balance Sheet Highlights (What's this?)

Assets	Q3 2005	Q3 2004	% Change
Cash+ ST Invest.	$47,794	$39,136	+22.1%
Inventory	$196,397	$182,018	+7.9%
Accounts Rec.	$205,255	$191,926	+6.9%

Liabilities	Q3 2005	Q3 2004	% Change
Long-Term Debt	$32,154	$43,894	-26.7%
Accounts Pay.	$123,653	$121,388	+1.9%

Cash Flow Highlights (What's this?)

No cash flow data provided. (Boo!)

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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 check Fool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean.

Deckers Outdoor is a Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. You can find out what is in his portfolio by checking Tim's Fool profile, which is here . The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy .