On Dec. 14, 2006, warehouse retailer Costco (NASDAQ:COST) released its first-quarter earnings for the period ended Nov. 26.
- Total sales at this big box retailer were just over 9%. Same-store sales rose 4%.
- Margins were flat, which is not a surprise; Costco caps in gross margins to pass as much savings on the customers to thus keep them renewing their memberships.
- Is it any wonder that 571 of 597 investors think Costco will outperform the S&P 500 in CAPS, our new community intelligence service? After all, this Stock Advisor selection has a pretty passionate following. What do you think? Sign up today and let your voice be heard.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$14,151.6 |
$12,933.3 |
9.4% |
|
Net Profit |
$236.9 |
$215.8 |
9.8% |
|
EPS |
$0.51 |
$0.45 |
13.3% |
|
Diluted Shares |
467.8 |
486.4 |
(3.8%) |
Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change* | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
12.5% |
12.4% |
0.1 |
|
Operating Margin |
2.5% |
2.5% |
(0.0) |
|
Net Margin |
1.7% |
1.7% |
0.0 |
Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q1 2007* |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$2,614.0 |
$3,289.5 |
(20.5%) |
|
Inventory |
$5,389.0 |
$4,825.3 |
11.7% |
|
Liabilities |
Q1 2007* |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$5,538.0 |
$4,859.5 |
14% |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$175.0 |
$546.8 |
(68%) |
Learn the ways of the balance sheet.
Cash Flow Highlights
I may love its stores, but I don't like the lack of a cash flow statement with the press release.
Find out why Fools always follow the money.
Related Companies:
- Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT)
- Target (NYSE:TGT)
- Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD)
Related Foolishness:
Wal-Mart is a Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation.
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, David Meier did not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. Fool rules for disclosure are here.
