Chesapeake Burns Bright: Fool by Numbers

On Feb. 22, Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

• Earnings per share adjusted for non-recurring events came in at $0.90, a 7% increase year over year, and significantly higher than the $0.77 analyst consensus estimate.
• Similarly, Q4 revenue blew out analyst estimates, as it was up 6.7% to $1.9 billion year over year, versus expectations of $1.5 billion.
• The company's average daily production for the quarter averaged 1.65 billions per cubic feet equivalient, an increase of 17% and the company's 22nd consecutive quarter of sequential U.S. production growth.
• A full 971 Motley Fool CAPS players peg Chesapeake as an "outperform."

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$1,867.6	$1,751.0	6.7%
Net Profit*	$445.5	$431.8	3.2%
EPS	$0.96	$1.11	(13.5%)
Diluted Shares	491.0	403.7	21.6%

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

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Operating Margin	44.7%	44.2%	0.5
Net Margin	23.9%	24.7%	(0.8)

*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.	$2.5	$60.0	(95.8%)

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Long-Term Debt	$7,375.5	$5,489.7	34.4%

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

	2006	2005	Change
Cash From Ops.	$1,861.1	$829.5	124.3%

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

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Chesapeake is a Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation. To find more top-shelf stocks at bargain-bin prices, sign up today for a free 30-day guest pass.

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.