How Does Staples Stack Up?: Fool by Numbers

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On March 1, Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) released earnings for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 3.

• Revenue for the quarter rose 18.5% on continued strength in all three units: North American retail, North American delivery, and international. Excluding the extra week of sales, revenue increased 10%.
• Improved operating margins and continued share repurchases drove EPS 24% higher.
• In January, Staples announced it's going into India with a joint venture with Pantaloon Retail Ltd.
• For fiscal 2007, the company anticipates EPS to grow by 15% to 20% to around $1.43 to $1.49.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$5,285.9	$4,462.3	18.5%
Net Profit	$336.5	$276.7	21.6%
EPS	$0.46	$0.37	24.3%
Diluted Shares	714.7	727.4	(1.7%)

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

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	29.3%	29.4%	(0.1)
Operating Margin	9.9%	9.7%	0.2
Net Margin	6.4%	6.2%	0.2

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$1,475.4	$1,570.9	(6.1%)
Accounts Rec.	$720.8	$576.7	25.0%
Inventory	$1,919.7	$1,706.4	12.5%

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$1,486.2	$1,435.8	3.5%
Total Debt	$517.7	$530.5	(2.4%)

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

	2006	2005	Change
Cash From Ops.	$1,165.0	$1,198.6	(2.8%)
Capital Expenditures	$528.5	$456.1	15.9%
Free Cash Flow	$636.5	$742.5	(14.3%)

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Foolishness:

• Hard Days at Office Depot
• Staples Makes It Look Easy
• A Turnaround to the Max

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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. This data has been provided by Netscribes. To provide feedback on this article, please click on the "feedback" button below.