Cisco Cracks Up: Fool by Numbers

Recs

4

On Nov. 7, networking giant Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) released first-quarter 2008 earnings for the period ended Oct. 27, 2007.

  • You may have noticed that Cisco's stock price dropped more than 6% this morning, erasing approximately over $10 billion of its market cap. Whatever the reason, the company beat sales and earnings estimates. Pro forma EPS was $0.40 vs. the $0.36 target, so these numbers can't be blamed.
  • Seen another way, the drop canceled about three months' worth of gains.
  • Cisco widened every important margin, and all cash flows were fatter than the GAAP net profit.
  • The share count was just about the only thing moving in the wrong direction. Cisco took on a tiny bit more debt, too, but the cash balance increase easily makes up for that.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change

Sales

$9,554

$8,184

16.7%

Net Profit

$2,205

$1,608

37.1%

EPS

$0.35

$0.26

34.6%

Diluted Shares

6,330

6,199

2.1%

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change*

Gross Margin

64.6%

63.9%

0.7

Operating Margin

24.8%

24.3%

0.5

Net Margin

23.1%

19.7%

3.4

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$24,679

$19,520

26.4%

Accounts Rec.

$3,418

$3,417

0%

Inventory

$1,315

$1,477

(11%)

Liabilities

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change

Accounts Payable

$820

$869

(5.6%)

Long-Term Debt

$6,582

$6,455

2%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change

Cash From Ops.

$3,089

$2,271

36%

Capital Expenditures

$296

$214

38.3%

Free Cash Flow

$2,793

$2,057

35.8%

Owner Earnings

$2,330

$1,742

33.8%

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Competitive Context

Market Cap

Trailing P/E Ratio

CAPS Rating

Cisco

$188,630

26.4

*****

Nokia (NYSE: NOK)

$156,220

16.7

*****

Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR)

$16,970

61.9

***

Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT)

$8,120

NM

*

CIENA (Nasdaq: CIEN)

$4,000

64.8

***

Using the latest reported numbers from Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.

Keep your partners close and the competition in your vest pocket.

Related Foolishness:

“Make Big Money With Options” Motley Fool CFO Ollen Douglass recently made over $100,000 buying options on 7 well known stocks. Now we’re committed to turning his small fortune into a massive one! And we want you to join us! Enter your email address to hear more:

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Compare Brokers

TD AMERITRADE
more info
ShareBuilder
more info
Power E*Trade

more info
Scottrade
more info
Fool Disclosure

DocumentId: 539947, ~/Articles/ArticleHandler.aspx, 12/1/2009 1:32:43 AM

Report This Comment

Use this area to report a comment that you believe is in violation of the community guidelines. Our team will review the entry and take any appropriate action.

Sending report...

The Must-Read Story on Fool.com
The Public Health-Care Plan's Problem

Related Tickers

11/30/2009 4:00 PM
JNPR $26.13 Up +0.46 +1.79%
Juniper Networks,… CAPS Rating: ***
NOK $13.26 Up +0.05 +0.38%
Nokia Corp (ADR) CAPS Rating: ****
NT $0.32 Down +0.00 +0.00%
Nortel Networks Co… CAPS Rating: **
CIEN $12.15 Down +0.00 +0.00%
Ciena Corp CAPS Rating: ***
CSCO $23.40 Up +0.02 +0.09%
Cisco Systems, Inc… CAPS Rating: ****

Community: Investing Wiki

Term Of The Hour

Property tax: Property tax is usually levied on the assessed value of real estate and sometimes other property by local comunities to support schools, municipal government, county government and services provided by other local agencies.

Want to learn more or edit this definition?
Click here to read more!