On Feb. 16, Strayer Education (NASDAQ:STRA) released Q4 2005 earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

  • Revenue increased 19%, and total student enrollment increased 16%.
  • Operating margins fell 2 percentage points but actually exceeded management's earlier target of a 3-percentage-point drop.
  • Net profit grew 13%, and EPS grew 16%, reflecting additional shares repurchased during the quarter.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

% Change

Sales

$62,290

$62,018

$52,268

+18.7%

Net Profit

--

$15,011

$13,279

+13.0%

EPS

$0.99

$1.03

$0.89

+15.7%

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

Margin Checkup

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

Change

Gross Margin

67.10%

67.00%

0.10

Op. Margin

37.59%

39.74%

-2.15

Net Margin

24.20%

25.41%

-1.20



Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

% Change

Cash+ ST Invest.

$119,806

$122,757

-2.4%

Inventory

$-

$-

N/A

Accounts Rec.

$55,935

$41,669

+34.2%


Liabilities

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

% Change

Long-Term Debt

$-

$-

N/A

Accounts Pay.

$6,402

$4,971

+28.8%

Inventories at work.

Cash Flow Highlights*

2005

2004

% Change

Cash From Ops

$55,143

$58,126

-5.1%

Capital Expend.

$12,275

$11,063

+11.0%

Free Cash Flow

$42,868

$47,063

-8.9%

*Cash Flow data is for all of 2005.

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL)
  • Career Education (NASDAQ:CECO)
  • Corinthian College (NASDAQ:COCO)
  • DeVry (NYSE:DV)
  • ITT Educational (NYSE:ESI)

Related Foolishness:

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.

At the time of publication, Fool analyst Andy Cross did not own shares in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here .