Margins matter. The more PotashCorp
Here's the current margin snapshot for PotashCorp and some of its sector and industry peers and direct competitors.
Company |
TTM Gross Margin |
TTM Operating Margin |
TTM Net Margin |
---|---|---|---|
PotashCorp | 40.9% | 35.7% | 29.3% |
Terra Nitrogen |
33.5% | 30.6% | 30.5% |
Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile |
33.5% | 28.7% | 20.5% |
Mosaic |
26.4% | 20.7% | 13.7% |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. TTM = trailing 12 months.
Unfortunately, that table doesn't tell us much about where PotashCorp has been, or where it's going. A company with rising gross and operating margins often fuels its growth by increasing demand for its products. If it sells more units while keeping costs in check, its profitability increases. Conversely, a company with gross margins that inch downward over time is often losing out to competition and possibly engaging in a race to the bottom on prices. If it can't make up for this problem by cutting costs -- and most companies can't -- then both the business and its shares face a decidedly bleak outlook.
Of course, over the short term, the kind of economic shocks we recently experienced can drastically affect a company's profitability. That's why I like to look at five fiscal years' worth of margins, along with the results for the trailing 12 months (TTM), the last fiscal year, and the last fiscal quarter (LFQ). You can't always reach a hard conclusion about your company's health, but you can better understand what to expect and what to watch.
Here's the margin picture for PotashCorp over the past few years.
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Dollar amounts in millions. FY= fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.
(Because of seasonality in some businesses, the numbers for the last period on the right -- the TTM figures -- aren't always comparable to the FY results preceding them.)
Here's how the stats break down:
- Over the past five years, gross margin peaked at 55.6% and averaged 37.3%. Operating margin peaked at 47.8% and averaged 30.5%. Net margin peaked at 38.9% and averaged 24.7%.
- TTM gross margin is 40.9%, 360 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM operating margin is 35.7%, 520 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM net margin is 29.3%, 460 basis points better than the five-year average.
With recent TTM operating margins exceeding historical averages, PotashCorp looks to be doing fine.
If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're probably ahead of 95% of the market's individual investors. To stay ahead, learn more about how I use analysis like this to help me uncover the best returns in the stock market. Have an opinion on the margins at PotashCorp? Let us know in the comments section below.
- Add Potash Corp to My Watchlist.
- Add Terra Nitrogen to My Watchlist.
- Add Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile to My Watchlist.
- Add Mosaic to My Watchlist.