On Oct. 4, mobile gadget master Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) released second-quarter 2008 earnings for the period ended Sept. 1.
- These brilliant results only look more impressive when you consider that RIM wasn't reliably profitable as recently as last year. It's the fourth quarter in a row of ever-faster revenue growth for the Canadians.
- Inventories are growing slower than revenues, meaning that RIM has little trouble pushing its products out the door.
- The strongest growth of all comes in Tom Gardner's favorite cash flow metric: owner earnings. That's a sign of strong operations, as opposed to shrewd investments or fancy footwork in the tax-man tango.
- Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) just showed some weakness, but RIM is doing just fine. We'll see which is the better sector indicator when Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) report earnings in the coming weeks.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q2 2008 |
Q2 2007 |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$1,372 |
$659 |
108.4% |
|
Net Profit |
$288 |
$140 |
105.3% |
|
EPS* |
$0.50 |
$0.25 |
100% |
|
Diluted Shares |
572.2 |
570.7 |
0.3% |
Get back to basics with the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q2 2008 |
Q2 2007 |
Change* | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
51.3% |
56.2% |
(4.9) |
|
Operating Margin |
28.6% |
27.3% |
1.4 |
|
Net Margin |
21% |
21.3% |
(0.3) |
Margins are the earnings engine.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q2 2008 |
Q2 2007 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$1,342 |
$697 |
92.4% |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$853 |
$377 |
126.4% |
|
Inventory |
$301 |
$196 |
54% |
|
Liabilities |
Q2 2008 |
Q2 2007 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$182 |
$121 |
50.7% |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$6.9 |
$6.9 |
0.1% |
The balance sheet reflects the company's health.
Cash Flow Highlights
|
Q2 2008 |
Q2 2007 |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
$227 |
$251 |
(9.4%) |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$79.0 |
$68.6 |
15.1% |
|
Free Cash Flow |
$148 |
$182 |
(18.6%) |
|
$250 |
$102 |
144.8% |
Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.
Related Foolishness:
