On Oct. 25, defense giant Boeing (NYSE:BA) released third-quarter earnings for the period ended Sept. 30, 2006.

  • With Boeing's revenue increasing by 19.3% and a backlog of $229 billion, the demand for the company's commercial aircraft remains strong.
  • A $615 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice took a sizeable chunk out of operating cash flow. The settlement related to the improper hiring of a former Air Force acquisition official and the mishandling of Lockheed Martin's proprietary data.
  • The commercial airlines segment held the torch with a 61% increase in Q3 revenues of $6.7 billion year over year.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Sales*

$15,068

$14,739

$12,355

19.3%

Net Profit

--

$694

$1,009

(31.2%)

EPS

$0.63

$0.89

$1.26

(29.6%)

Diluted Shares

--

784

803

(2.3%)

*Includes sales of products and services

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

Margin Checkup

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

19.92%

15.67%

4.25

Operating Margin

6.45%

6.18%

0.27

Net Margin

4.71%

8.17%

(3.46)

*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.

$5,621

$5,074

10.8%

Accounts Rec.

$5,256

$4,997

5.2%

Inventory

$8,173

$6,877

18.8%



Liabilities

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Accounts Payable*

$16,741

$16,912

(1.0%)

Long-Term Debt

$8,549

$10,136

(15.7%)

*Includes other liabilities

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

YTD 2006

YTD 2005

Change

Cash From Ops.

$5,058

$4,613

9.6%

Capital Expenditures

$1,093

$1,074

1.8%

Free Cash Flow

$3,965

$3,539

12.0%



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related companies:

  • Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)
  • Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)
  • Raytheon (NYSE:RTN)

Related Foolishness:

Talk stocks with other investors and our analysts when you give our newsletters a try.

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.