On Nov. 28, DVR pioneer TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) released third-quarter 2008 earnings for the period ending Oct. 31.

  • We've paused the earnings take, for your replaying enjoyment.
  • TiVo is creeping toward positive profit and cash flow margins, inch by inch.
  • The balance sheet looks neat and clean, with no debt and enough cash to cover another couple of quarters of cash burn.
  • On the other hand, TiVo likes to sell more stock whenever the cash runs down into the $70 million range, and it's been about a year since the last infusion. In other words, don't be surprised to see some new dilution soon.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q3 2008

Q3 2007

Change

Sales

$75.5

$66.0

14.4%

Net Profit

($8.2)

($11.1)

25.7%

EPS

($0.08)

($0.12)

33.3%

Diluted Shares

97.6

91.9

6.2%

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q3 2008

Q3 2007

Change*

Gross Margin

40.7%

30.7%

10.0

Operating Margin

(12.5%)

(18.6%)

6.1

Net Margin

(10.9%)

(16.8%)

5.9

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q3 2008

Q3 2007

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$82.5

$107.0

(22.9%)

Accounts Rec.

$25.9

$27.3

(5.2%)

Inventory

$22.5

$34.1

(34.1%)

Liabilities

Q3 2008

Q3 2007

Change

Accounts Payable

$25.4

$28.3

(10.4%)

Long-Term Debt

$0.0

$0.0

N/A

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q3 2008

Q3 2007

Change

Cash From Ops.

($14.6)

($22.4)

34.8%

Capital Expenditures

$2.2

$2.7

(15.6%)

Free Cash Flow

($16.9)

($25.1)

32.8%

Owner Earnings

($6.4)

($11.5)

44.2%

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Competitive Context

Market Cap (in millions)

Trailing P/E Ratio

CAPS Rating

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)

$170,178

22.3

*****

Motorola (NYSE:MOT)

$35,544

117.2

**

Gemstar-TV Guide (NASDAQ:GMST)

$2,377

11.5

****

TiVo

$587

N/A

**

OpenTV (NASDAQ:OPTV)

$161

N/A

**

Using the latest reported numbers from Capital IQ.

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

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