Navteq's Earnings Are Off the Charts

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Add up a 49% increase in revenue, a 72% increase in net income, and increased forward guidance, and what do you get? If you answered, "a bunch of happy shareholders," you're right! And if you happen to be holding shares of Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick Navteq (NYSE: NVT), you win the prize -- a hefty 17% gain in the stock after Tuesday's announcement of blockbuster earnings. The results far exceeded the firm's own light guidance for the quarter, mostly thanks to significant and unexpected growth in one business segment.

Navteq reported surging demand for maps on portable devices, thanks to GPS navigators from outfits like Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) and feature-rich cellphones from the likes of Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Although automobile sales have been soft in the geographic regions it targets, the company noted that revenue from this area has been relatively stable.

While supplying maps to portable devices made up the bulk of this quarter's unanticipated growth, financials also got a boost from lower expenses and a strong Euro. Navteq incurred lower-than-planned distribution costs in the quarter, and moved some projects out into the second half of the year. The strong euro also helped boost revenue by $7.3 million, and lifted earnings per share $0.03 more than the company had anticipated. (The actual exchange rate of $1.35 per euro topped the $1.27 Navteq's guidance anticipated.)

Management remained mostly tight-lipped, opting not to speculate on how TomTom's planned acquisition of Navteq competitor Tele Atlas would affect the market in the future. While Navteq acknowledged that lost revenue from TomTom's business will have a meaningful impact in the second half of the year, CEO Judson Green stated that the deal will not fundamentally change how the company operates.

The TomTom-Tele Atlas merger has underscored the value of integrating user feedback and content in maps -- an area in which Navteq feels it has significant experience. Web portals such as Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) already incorporate location-based data into map applications for users, but mapmakers can incorporate user feedback to make their maps more efficient and accurate. At this point, though, Navteq is pleased with its current process of developing quality map data. With the kind of numbers it reported in the second quarter, shareholders should be more than content as well.

Find your way to further Foolishness:

• Navteq Heads North: Fool by Numbers
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Fool contributor Dave Mock relies on popcorn trails to find his way around. He owns shares of Garmin. Garmin, Yahoo!, and Navteq are Stock Advisor recommendations. Dave is the author of The Qualcomm Equation. The Fool's disclosure policy covers the globe.