On May 31, Costco (NASDAQ:COST) released Q3 2006 earnings for the period ended May 7.
- Sales beat estimates, but earnings missed by a penny because of increased fuel costs and income taxes.
- More importantly, earnings per share grew 14.5%, while the balance sheet remained strong.
- Most of the change in long-term debt is due to a reclassification to short-term debt (due in one year).
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Avg. Est. |
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$13,120 |
$13,273 |
$11,997 |
10.6% |
|
Net Profit |
-- |
$236 |
$210 |
12.3% |
|
EPS |
$0.50 |
$0.49 |
$0.43 |
14.5% |
|
Diluted Shares |
481 |
493 |
(2.6%) |
Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change* | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
12.34% |
12.45% |
(0.11) |
|
Operating Margin |
2.67% |
2.63% |
0.04 |
|
Net Margin |
1.78% |
1.75% |
0.03 |
Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.
Balance Sheet Highlights*
|
Assets |
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$3,302 |
$4,051 |
(18.5%) |
|
Accounts Rec. |
N/A* |
$298 |
N/A* |
|
Inventory |
$4,416 |
$4,040 |
9.3% |
|
Liabilities |
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$4,439 |
$4,134 |
7.4% |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$230 |
$715 |
(67.9%) |
Learn the ways of the balance sheet.
Cash Flow Highlights
Not provided by the company. (Boo!)
Find out why Fools always follow the money.
Related Companies:
- Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT)
- Target (NYSE:TGT)
- BJ's Wholesale (NYSE:BJ)
- Dollar General (NYSE:DG)
- Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO)
Costco and Family Dollar are Motley Fool Stock Advisor selections, while Wal-Mart is a Motley Fool Inside Value selection.
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.
At the time of publication, Nathan Parmelee had positions in Costco. Fool rules are here.
