On March 20, enterprise software titan Oracle
- Oracle's margins are amazingly stable for such an acquisition-happy company. Ellison's crew churns out quarter after quarter of steady or rising net margins, despite an equally steady flow of acquisition-related expenses.
- But that doesn't mean the company can rest on its laurels -- research and development remains the lifeblood of any tech company, large or small. Oracle grew its R&D investment by 22% over the year-ago quarter. That's slower than the revenue growth rate.
- And of course, management shot a few barbs at competitors like BEA Systems
(NASDAQ:BEAS) and SAP AG(NYSE:SAP) right up front in the earnings press release. Oracle claims to be growing its market share in any and all of its reportable markets.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$4,414 |
$3,470 |
27.2% |
|
Net Profit |
$1,033 |
$765 |
35.0% |
|
EPS |
$0.20 |
$0.14 |
42.9% |
|
Diluted Shares |
5,257.0 |
5,304.0 |
(0.9%) |
Get back to basics with the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change* |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
76.7% |
77.2% |
(0.6) |
|
Operating Margin |
31.6% |
30.3% |
1.3 |
|
Net Margin |
23.4% |
22.1% |
1.4 |
Margins are the earnings engine.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$6,445 |
$7,764 |
(17.0%) |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$2,795 |
$2,201 |
27.0% |
|
Liabilities |
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$273 |
$233 |
17.2% |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$5,736 |
$5,741 |
(0.1%) |
The balance sheet reflects the company's health.
Cash Flow Highlights
|
Q3 2007 |
Q3 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
$1,439 |
$1,106 |
30.1% |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$77 |
$75 |
2.7% |
|
Free Cash Flow |
$1,362 |
$1,031 |
32.1% |
|
$1,016 |
$779 |
30.4% |
Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.
Related Foolishness:
- Foolish Forecast: Dig Into Oracle
- Oracle Still a Hyperactive Acquirer
- Oracle Delivers, Denounces a Rival
- SAP Fires Back at Oracle
- Foolish Fundamentals: The Income Statement
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, Anders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.
