On Dec. 22, pharmacy retailer Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) released its earnings for the first quarter ended Nov. 30.

  • Sales were up almost 17% and same-store sales increased almost 10%.
  • EPS increased 26.5%, because much of the improvements in the gross margin found their way to the bottom line, and the number of shares outstanding fell.
  • In our new ratings service, Motley Fool CAPS, 470 of 505 investors think Walgreen will outperform the S&P 500. Do you have an opinion? Bring it to CAPS.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Sales

$12,708.5

$10,900.4

16.6%

Net Profit

$431.7

$345.6

24.9%

EPS

$0.43

$0.34

26.5%

Diluted Shares

1,013.4

1,022.3

(0.9%)



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

Margin Checkup

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

28.1%

27.5%

0.6

Operating Margin

5.3%

5.0%

0.3

Net Margin

3.4%

3.2%

0.2

*Expressed in percentage points

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$769.4

$895.5

(14.1%)

Accounts Rec.

$2,304.3

$1,472.8

56.5%

Inventory

$6,998.8

$6,239.8

12.2%



Liabilities

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Trade Accounts Payable

$4,552.3

$3,303.4

37.8%

Long-Term Debt

$0.0

$0.0

N/A



Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

$500.2

$437.4

14.4%

Capital Expenditures

$404.2

$335.5

20.5%

Free Cash Flow

$96.0

$101.9

(5.8%)



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • CVS (NYSE:CVS)
  • Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD)
  • drugstore.com (NASDAQ:DSCM)

Related Foolishness:

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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.