Up, Up, and Away With Aeropostale: Fool by Numbers (ARO)

Up, Up, and Away With Aeropostale: Fool by Numbers

On May 24, Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO ) released earnings for the first quarter ended May 5.

Earnings rose 64.4% as the retailer earned $13.8 million.
Total sales increased 12% to $275.8 million, with comps gaining 2.5%.
The company expects to earn $0.26 to $0.28 per share in the second quarter, benefiting from the extra week of back-to-school shopping, or the calendar-year shift, that will add $0.04 to $0.06 per share to the quarter's results.
Aeropostale is a three-star stock (out of a possible five) in Motley Fool CAPS.

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

Income Statement Highlights

	Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change
Sales	$275.8	$246.3	12%
Net Profit	$13.8	$8.4	64.4%
EPS	$0.26	$0.15	73.3%
Diluted Shares	52.1	55.1	(5.3%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change*
32.2%	28.6%	3.5
7.4%	5%	2.5
5%	3.4%	1.6

*Expressed in percentage points

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$210.7	$204.2	3.2%
Inventory	$107.6	$109.0	(1.3%)

Liabilities	Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change
Accounts Payable	$43.4	$71.1	(38.9%)

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Looks like the cash flow statement got blown away.

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

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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.

At the time of publication, Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo held no position in Aeropostale.

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