On May 8, networking giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) released third-quarter earnings for the period ended April 28.

  • Management reported the good quarter most had expected, and CEO John Chambers talked glowingly of being in a "unique market transition" that will benefit his company.

  • During the quarter, Cisco repurchased 56 million shares of common stock at an average price of $26.85 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $1.5 billion.

  • The stock carries an above-average four-star rating in Motley Fool CAPS.

 (Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change

Sales

$8,866.0

$7,322.0

21.1%

Net Profit

$1,874.0

$1,400.0

33.9%

EPS

$0.30

$0.22

36.4%

Diluted Shares

6,244.0

6,289.0

(0.7%)

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

Margin Checkup

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

63.7%

64.6%

(0.9)

Operating Margin

24.8%

22.6%

2.2

Net Margin

21.1%

19.1%

2.0

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$22,336.0

$18,183.0

22.8%

Accounts Rec.

$3,238.0

$2,980.0

8.7%

Inventory

$1,289.0

$1,313.0

(1.8%)

Liabilities

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$864.0

$837.0

3.2%

Long-Term Debt

$6,478.0

$6,346.0

2.1%

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

YTD 2007

YTD 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

$7,366.0

$5,582.0

32.0%

Capital Expenditures

$1,299.0

$5,942.0

(78.1%)

Free Cash Flow

$6,067.0

($360.0)

N/A

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

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. This data has been provided by Netscribes. To provide feedback on this article, please click on the "feedback" button below.