On June 26, database and middleware giant Oracle
- Oracle posted impressive growth for such a large company, structured just the way a Fool would want it. The company snared big revenue gains, a bigger operational boost, even more juice in the net profits -- and then again, after accounting for share buybacks -- capped off with the largest gains of all in various cash flows. Very nice.
- However, it's unclear how much of the growth is organic, and how much came from the $5 billion Oracle spent on acquisitions over the past year.
- That's a minor quibble, though. Oracle knows that its acquisition-based growth strategy is unusual and controversial, and it's prepared to defend its tactics to the bitter end. Take that, IBM
(NYSE:IBM) and SAP AG(NYSE:SAP) !
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q4 2007 |
Q4 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$5,828 |
$4,851 |
20.1% |
|
Net Profit |
$1,604 |
$1,300 |
23.4% |
|
EPS |
$0.31 |
$0.24 |
29.2% |
|
Diluted Shares |
5,224 |
5,373 |
(2.8%) |
Get back to basics with the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q4 2007 |
Q4 2006 |
Change* |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
80.2% |
80.1% |
0.0 |
|
Operating Margin |
39.1% |
38.3% |
0.9 |
|
Net Margin |
27.5% |
26.8% |
0.7 |
Margins are the earnings engine.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q4 2007 |
Q4 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$7,020 |
$7,605 |
(7.7%) |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$4,074 |
$3,022 |
34.8% |
|
Liabilities |
Q4 2007 |
Q4 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$315 |
$268 |
17.5% |
|
Long-Term Debt |
$6,235 |
$5,735 |
8.7% |
The balance sheet reflects the company's health.
Cash Flow Highlights
|
Q4 2007 |
Q4 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
$2,215 |
$1,679 |
31.9% |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$136 |
$75 |
81.3% |
|
Free Cash Flow |
$2,079 |
$1,604 |
29.6% |
|
$2,140 |
$1,537 |
39.2% |
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.
At the time of publication, Anders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.
