On Aug. 14, semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials
• Applied met its revenue guidance and beat the top end of its own earnings projections by $0.02 per share.
• A generous share-buyback program certainly helped the company reach that EPS target.
• This company is a fine barometer for the future growth plans of its major customers, including Intel
(NASDAQ:INTC) , Brooks Automation(NASDAQ:BRKS) , and Semiconductor Manufacturing International(NYSE:SMI) . But because of Applied's diverse customer base, you need to comb management comments for sector-specific data.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$2,561 |
$2,543 |
0.7% |
|
Net Profit |
$474 |
$512 |
(7.5%) |
|
EPS |
$0.34 |
$0.33 |
3% |
|
Diluted Shares |
1,407.3 |
1,562.6 |
(9.9%) |
Get back to basics with the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change* |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
47.5% |
48.1% |
(0.6) |
|
Operating Margin |
26.2% |
26.8% |
(0.5) |
|
Net Margin |
18.5% |
20.1% |
(1.6) |
Margins are the earnings engine.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$2,408 |
$2,833 |
(15%) |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$2,240 |
$2,294 |
(2.4%) |
|
Inventory |
$1,362 |
$1,342 |
1.5% |
|
Liabilities |
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable + Accrued Expenses |
$2,203 |
$1,520 |
44.9% |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$407 |
$407 |
(0%) |
The balance sheet reflects the company's health.
Cash Flow Highlights
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
$638 |
$362 |
76.3% |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$73 |
$40 |
84.6% |
|
Free Cash Flow |
$565 |
$322 |
75.3% |
|
$457 |
$500 |
(8.7%) |
Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.
Related Foolishness:
- Foolish Forecast: Applied Materials Leads the Way
- Forecast: Worse Than a Perfect Storm
- Foolish Fundamentals: Free Cash Flow
Intel is a Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation.
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, Anders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.
