On Mar. 2, World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) released Q3 2006 earnings for the period ending Jan. 27, 2006.

  • EPS of $0.19 topped analyst consensus estimates of $0.11.
  • Live event revenue increased 61%, to $18.2 million because of a larger number of international events.
  • Television advertising revenue dropped considerably as a result of the move to the USA Network.
  • Free cash flow increased 25%.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Sales

$85,920

$103,042

$82,719

24.6%

Net Profit

--

$13,599

$10,919

24.5%

EPS

$0.11

$0.19

$0.16

18.8%

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

Margin Checkup

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Gross Margin

45.47%

46.29%

(0.82%)

Op. Margin

20.10%

14.99%

5.11%

Net Margin

13.20%

13.20%

(0.00%)

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Cash+ ST Invest.

$278,006

$258,055

7.7%

Inventory

$2,227

$1,057

110.7%

Accounts Rec.

$66,848

$61,901

8.0%


Liabilities

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Long-Term Debt

$6,593

$7,198

(8.4%)

Accounts Pay.

$18,932

$15,669

20.8%


Cash Flow Highlights*

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Cash From Ops

$10,358

$8,867

16.8%

Capital Expend.

$838

$1,250

(33.0%)

Free Cash Flow

$9,520

$7,617

25.0%

*As reported by the company for the third quarter

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

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Related Foolishness:

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 Fool, we believe numbers tell only part of the story, so check Fool.com for more in-depth discussions of what the numbers mean.

At the time of publication, Fool analyst Joseph Khattab owned shares of WWE. Fool rules are here.