On Nov. 21, Borders Group (NYSE:BGP) released third-quarter earnings for the period ended Oct. 28.

  • Revenues rose by a marginal 1.7% to $860.4 million. A rise in the Domestic Borders Superstore and International segments was partially offset by a dip in the Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment.

  • The company estimates EPS for the fourth quarter of 2006 at between $1.80 and $2, and full-year EPS at between $0.30 and $0.65.

  • Only 21 investors have rated Borders in our new Motley Fool CAPS service, and 16 of them think it will outperform the S&P 500. If you have an opinion about the company, bring it to CAPS!

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Sales

$860.4

$845.8

1.7%

Net Profit

($39.1)

($14.1)

N/A

EPS

($0.64)

($0.20)

N/A

Diluted Shares

60.9

69.2

(12%)



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

Margin Checkup

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

21.7%

24.2%

(2.5)

Operating Margin

(6.4%)

(2.4%)

(4.0)

Net Margin

(4.6%)

(1.7%)

(2.9)

*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.

$42.7

$67.7

(36.9%)

Inventory

$1,716.9

$1,612.9

6.4%



Liabilities

Q3 2006

Q3 2005

Change

Accounts Payable

$904.5

$790.2

14.5%

Long-Term Debt

$5.3

$5.4

(1.9%)



Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights
The cash flow statement must be stuck in a book somewhere. Boo!

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS)
  • Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK)
  • Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
  • Books-A-Million (NASDAQ:BAMM)

Related Foolishness:

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