On Nov. 7, satellite TV service provider EchoStar
- The sales growth didn't translate into profits, thanks to higher cost of sales and a hefty increase in tax payments. The company added another million subscribers in the interim for a total of 12.8 million, and they don't come cheap.
- The fatter cash balance looks good, until you realize that there's an increase in long-term debt. But free cash flow is at least positive -- satellite TV is just a very capital-intensive line of business.
- You have to appreciate generous share buybacks like EchoStar's. Decreasing your share count by nearly 8% in a year is a very shareholder-friendly thing to do.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
Avg. Est. |
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Sales |
$2,440 |
$2,471.4 |
$2,128.2 |
16.1% |
Net Profit |
-- |
$139.6 |
$208.9 |
(33.2%) |
EPS |
$0.38 |
$0.31 |
$0.43* |
(32.6%) |
Diluted Shares |
446.4 |
483.8 |
(7.7%) |
Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.
Margin Checkup
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change* |
|
---|---|---|---|
Gross Margin |
46.69% |
48.07% |
(1.38) |
Operating Margin |
11.40% |
13.71% |
(2.31) |
Net Margin |
5.65% |
9.81% |
(4.16) |
Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.
Balance Sheet Highlights
Assets |
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change |
---|---|---|---|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$2,788.2 |
$1,517.5 |
83.7% |
Accounts Rec. |
$582.9 |
$471.0 |
23.8% |
Inventory |
$268.1 |
$236.3 |
13.5% |
Liabilities |
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change |
---|---|---|---|
Accounts Payable |
$299.1 |
$290.4 |
3.0% |
Long-Term Debt |
$6939.4 |
5905.2 |
17.5% |
Learn the ways of the balance sheet.
Cash Flow Highlights
Q3 2006 |
Q3 2005 |
Change |
|
---|---|---|---|
Cash From Ops. |
$557.9 |
$504.6 |
10.6% |
Capital Expenditures |
$376.9 |
$315.2 |
19.6% |
Free Cash Flow |
$181.0 |
$189.4 |
(4.4%) |
Find out why Fools always follow the money.
Related Companies:
-
DirecTV Group
(NYSE:DTV) -
Comcast
(NASDAQ:CMCSA) -
Time Warner
(NYSE:TWX)
Related Foolishness:
Time Warner is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor selection. Find more great stocks with a free 30-day trial of our premium newsletter service.
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, Fool contributor Anders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.