On Sept. 27, middleware maker TIBCO Software (NASDAQ:TIBX) released third-quarter earnings for the period ended Sept. 2.
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Hot on the heels of a disappointing second-quarter report, the third-quarter installment isn't much better.
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This is the slimmest gross-margin performance we've seen from TIBCO since the spring of 2005, and the weakest net income margin of the past four years.
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But all is not gloom and doom: The company spent around $84 million on repurchasing its own stock this quarter. Together with the $101 million buyback in the previous quarter, it's the largest six-month buyback in company history.
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In our Motley Fool CAPS community, TIBCO is a three-star stock with a four-star history, much like rivals BEA Systems (NASDAQ:BEAS) and IBM (NYSE:IBM). Other competitors, including Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) and DST Systems (NYSE:DST), fare better than that today.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$135 |
$120 |
12.2% |
|
Net Profit |
$4.6 |
$11.3 |
(58.8%) |
|
EPS |
$0.02 |
$0.05 |
(60.0%) |
|
Diluted Shares |
200.1 |
214.5 |
(6.7%) |
Get back to basics with the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change* | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
69.4% |
72.2% |
(2.8) |
|
Operating Margin |
2.1% |
10.5% |
(8.3) |
|
Net Margin |
3.4% |
9.3% |
(5.9) |
Margins are the earnings engine.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$224 |
$521 |
(57.1%) |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$115 |
$93.3 |
23.0% |
|
Liabilities |
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$8.6 |
$10.5 |
(18.0%) |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$47.3 |
$48.8 |
(3.2%) |
The balance sheet reflects the company's health.
Cash Flow Highlights
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
$19.3 |
$48.1 |
(59.8%) |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$3.4 |
$3.5 |
(2.8%) |
|
Free Cash Flow |
$15.9 |
$44.5 |
(64.3%) |
|
$13.4 |
$15.5 |
(13.6%) |
Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.
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