Earlier today, Stock Advisor selection Marvel Entertainment
- Sales and profits skyrocketed, with Marvel recognizing more than $50 million in deferred up-front payments received last year from its Spider-Man joint venture with Sony
(NYSE:SNE) . - Without similarly sized up-front payments in Q1, free cash flow declined by 73%. Even so, Marvel produced more than $22 million in cash.
- And the publishing business continues to do well, earning a 42% operating margin -- its best since 2004 -- on higher volume and better pricing for its Civil War series and the death of comic icon Captain America.
- Perhaps that's why the 826 amateur and professional investors covering the stock in our Motley Fool CAPS investor intelligence database give Marvel four of the maximum five stars.
(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$151,402 |
$90,058 |
68.1% |
|
Net Profit |
$46,842 |
$17,509 |
167.5% |
|
EPS |
$0.56 |
$0.19 |
194.7% |
|
Diluted Shares |
84,020 |
91,467 |
(8.1%) |
Get back to basics with the income statement.
Margin Checkup|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change* |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
90.17% |
73.48% |
16.69 |
|
Operating Margin |
66.75% |
35.55% |
31.20 |
|
Net Margin |
30.94% |
19.44% |
11.50 |
Margins are the earnings engine.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$40,831 |
$29,367 |
39% |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$41,885 |
$56,809 |
(26.3%) |
|
Inventory |
$11,115 |
$15,237 |
(27.1%) |
|
Liabilities |
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$3,574 |
$3,955 |
(9.6%) |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$49,500 |
$26,800 |
84.7% |
The balance sheet reflects the company's health.
Cash Flow Checkup
|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
$24,289 |
$94,931 |
(74.4%) |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$1,554 |
$9,065 |
(82.9%) |
|
Free Cash Flow |
$22,735 |
$85,866 |
(73.5%) |
Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.
Related Foolishness:
- Did Marvel deliver? Check our Foolish forecast.
- Watch Spidey swing to sequel success.
- But will the web slinger capture Broadway?
Marvel is a Stock Advisor pick. Click here to get 30 days of free access to the entire portfolio, which is beating the market by nearly 39%.
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.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers, who is ranked 6,444 out of more than 28,400 rated investors in CAPS, still owns more than 2,000 comic books but didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article at the time of publication. His portfolio holdings can be found at Tim's Fool profile. His thoughts on Foolishness and investing may be found in his blog. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy always adds up.