FEI to the Sky: Fool by Numbers

On Feb. 6, FEI (Nasdaq: FEIC  ) , maker of instruments and equipment used in nanotechnology research, released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

• The stock jumped smartly, with profits coming in at $0.30 per share, a far sight better than the $0.92 loss recorded a year ago.
• Management says to look for first-quarter revenues in the range of $137 million to $144 million, and EPS to come in between $0.27 and $0.32.
• Investors in Motley Fool CAPS love this stock, giving it the highest possible rating: five stars.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$140.3	$99.8	40.6%
Net Profit	$11.9	($30.9)	N/A
EPS	$0.30	($0.92)	N/A
Diluted Shares	44.1	33.7	30.7%

Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	42.0%	28.4%	13.6
Operating Margin	9.9%	(22.9%)	32.8
Net Margin	8.5%	(30.9%)	39.4

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$344.9	$214.8	60.5%
Accounts Rec.	$145.0	$96.2	50.6%
Inventory	$97.5	$84.9	14.8%

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$45.1	$26.2	72.3%
Long-Term Debt	$310.9	$225.0	38.2%

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Alas, management does not provide us the pleasure of a cash flow statement.

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

• Veeco (Nasdaq: VECO  )
• Electro-Sensors (Nasdaq: ELSE  )
• GSI Group (Nasdaq: GSI  )
• Harvard Bioscience (Nasdaq: HBIO  )
• Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN  )

Related Foolishness:

• Veeco and FEI Give It the Old College Try
• Veeco's Small Setback
• Nuance: Live Long and Prosper?

Nuance Communications is a is a Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation. Want to know about more small companies poised for big returns? Take a 30-day free trial of the newsletter.

Fool by Numbers is designed to give you the raw earnings information in a timely fashion, putting all the numbers you need in one easy-to-read place. But at The Motley Fool, we believe numbers tell only part of the story, so check Fool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean. This data has been provided by Netscribes. To provide feedback on this article, please click on the "feedback" button below.