Rent-A-Center Revs Up: Fool by Numbers

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On Oct. 30, Rent-A-Center (Nasdaq: RCII) released third-quarter earnings for the period ended Sept. 30.

• The 2.4% increase in revenues to $587 million was primarily driven by a 3.6% increase in same-store sales, plus an increase in incremental revenues generated in new and acquired stores.
• When adjusting for restructuring charges, litigation fees, and hurricane charges, EPS grew to $0.51 from $0.36.
• Improved operations caused margins to rise across the board.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Avg. Est.	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Sales	$586	$587	$574	2.4%
Net Profit	--	$25	$11	123.8%
EPS	$0.48	$0.36	$0.15	140.0%
Diluted Shares	--	71	74	(3.9%)

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

Margin Checkup

	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	15.67%	12.40%	3.27
Operating Margin	8.83%	5.40%	3.43
Net Margin	4.30%	1.97%	2.33

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$54	$53	1.7%
Inventory	$833	$751	10.9%

Liabilities	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Long-Term Debt	$658	$707	(6.8%)

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

	YTD 2006	YTD 2005	Change
Cash From Ops.	$131	$144	(8.6%)
Capital Expenditures	No Data	$41	N/A
Free Cash Flow	No Data	$103	N/A

We just needed two more pieces of data to calculate an important metric. C'mon, help investors out.

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related companies:

• Ryder System (NYSE: R)
• United Rentals (NYSE: URI)
• Aaron Rents (NYSE: RNT)

Related Foolishness:

• Rent-A-Center Buys Growth
• Rent-A-Center Finds the Fuel for Growth

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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.