Accenture Aces Q2: Fool by Numbers

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On March 27, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) released second-quarter earnings for the period ended Feb. 28.

• Double-digit growth in consulting and outsourcing revenues boosted sales by 15%.
• Margins increased across the board, giving a surge to earnings per share.
• Accenture has a five-star rating in Motley Fool CAPS, while direct competitor IBM (NYSE: IBM) has only a two-star rating.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data.)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q2 2007	Q2 2006	Change
Sales	$5,169.4	$4,491.1	15.1%
Net Profit	$408.0	$102.3	298.7%
EPS	$0.47	$0.11	327.3%
Diluted Shares	867.3	892.9	(2.9%)

Margin Checkup

	Q2 2007	Q2 2006	Change*
Gross Margin	27.2%	19.3%	7.8
Operating Margin	10.8%	3.1%	7.8
Net Margin	7.9%	2.3%	5.6

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q2 2007	Q2 2006	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$3,141.9	$2,346.8	33.9%
Accounts Rec.	$2,287.5	$1,957.2	16.9%

Liabilities	Q2 2007	Q2 2006	Change
Accounts Payable	$832.6	$757.9	9.8%
Long-Term Debt	$4.2	$28.0	(84.8%)

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

	Q2 2007	Q2 2006	Change
Cash From Ops.	$710.0	$683.7	3.8%
Capital Expenditures	$76.0	$72.0	5.6%
Free Cash Flow	$634.0	$611.7	3.6%

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

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• Was Affiliated Computer Cheap?
• I Love IBM
• What the Best Investors Do

Accenture is an Inside Value recommendation. Discover more of the market's best bargains with a free 30-day trial subscription.

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.