On Feb. 1, Anheuser-Busch Companies (NYSE:BUD) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

  • Net sales increased by 1.8% to $3.4 billion for the quarter, thanks to growth in all sectors except domestic beer.
  • Net profit grew by 31% to $190.7 million, mainly because of lower SG&A expenses.
  • Anheuser-Busch is a three-star company in our community intelligence database, CAPS, with 538 out of 602 CAPS investors predicting it will outperform the S&P 500.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Sales

$3,424.8

$3,365.4

1.8%

Net Profit

$190.7

$145.6

31.0%

EPS

$0.25

$0.19

31.6%

Diluted Shares

773.7

780.3

(0.8%)



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

Margin Checkup

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

28.7%

29.3%

(0.6)

Operating Margin

6.4%

6.1%

0.3

Net Margin

5.6%

4.3%

1.2

*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.

$219.2

$225.8

(2.9%)

Accounts Rec.

$720.2

$681.4

5.7%

Inventory

$694.9

$654.5

6.2%



Liabilities

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Accounts Payable

$1,426.3

$1,249.5

14.1%

Long-Term Debt

$7,653.3

$7,972.1

(4.0%)



Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

YTD 2006

YTD 2005

Change

Cash From Ops.

$2,709.4

$2,701.9

0.3%

Capital Expenditures

$812.5

$1,136.7

(28.5%)

Free Cash Flow

$1,896.9

$1,565.2

21.2%



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP)
  • Quilmes Industrial (NYSE:LQU)
  • AmBev (NYSE:ABV)
  • Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM)
  • Compania Cervecerias Unidas (NYSE:CU)

Related Foolishness:

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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.