On May 8, Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) released first-quarter earnings for the period ended March 31.

  • To find out why Foolish contributor Rick Munarriz doesn't think Priceline's posted results should be taken at face value, read his earnings take.
  • Total revenue increased by 24.6% to $301.4 million. However, adjusted pro forma revenues were less at $285.5 million. 
  • The company expects continued advancement within the European market. But lower airline ticket margins and marketing hurdles in the domestic market will offset growth from its European counterpart.
  • Priceline is sitting on the runway with three stars in Motley Fool CAPS, our free interactive stock database. Travel services peer Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) -- who also reported earnings yesterday -- holds the same three-star rating. Of the ranked travel services companies tagged in CAPS, the only company to hold a higher ranking is Ctrip.com (NASDAQ:CTRP), which has four out of the five available stars.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Sales

$301.4

$241.9

24.6%

Net Profit

($16.3)

($1.0)

N/A

EPS

($0.44)

($0.02)

N/A

Diluted Shares

37.2

39.4

(5.6%)

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

Margin Checkup

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

39.7%

29.9%

9.9

Operating Margin

(10.5%)

(0.5%)

(10.0)

Net Margin

(5.4%)

(0.4%)

(5.0)

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$455.0

$167.5

171.7%

Accounts Rec.

$52.1

$33.8

54.1%

Inventory

N/A

N/A

N/A

Liabilities

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$57.9

$49.4

17.2%

Total Debt*

$569.0

$223.2

154.9%

*Includes convertible debt.

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Priceline must be on vacation, because it forgot to include a cash flow statement in the press release.

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend

Related Foolishness:

Priceline is a Stock Advisor recommendation and Ctrip.com is a  Hidden Gems pick. A 30-day trial to either newsletter will send your portfolio flying.

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.