If there's a recession going on, Dolby Labs (NYSE:DLB) didn't get the memo.
Reporting earnings Wednesday, this Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation demonstrated the twin magical feats of pulling 20% sales growth out of a hat, then transmogrifying that figure into 62% earnings growth. All while riding a unicycle, drinking a glass of water, and singing "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" in Portuguese.
I may have taken a few liberties there, but the quarter was pretty magical. We're mired in one of the nastiest recessions in memory, as tech giants like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) slash jobs to control costs, and industrial giants like Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Boeing (NYSE:BA) lay off tens of thousands of workers after dismal quarters. Yet here comes Dolby CEO Bill Jasper, whistling past the economic graveyard to calmly inform us that, sure: "We are ... mindful of the worldwide economic slowdown, and have adjusted our outlook" accordingly. But at the same time: "We continue to position ourselves for the long-term by pursuing new innovations and opportunities."
As bad as things look across the rest of the investing world, Dolby still thinks it can rake in between $630 million and $700 million in revenue this year. Dolby expects to generate about a 31% net profit margin thereon (way better than rivals Philips (NYSE:PHG) or Sony (NYSE:SNE) manage), and close out the year with somewhere between $1.66 and $1.91 per share in profits.
Pump up the volume
Sorry. Am I waking the children? Cheering too loudly over the news? Well, I'd love to tone down my enthusiasm, but I can't. Because on top of all of the above, I just cannot help but point out that Dolby is cheap, cheap, cheap.
Over the past four reported quarters, Dolby generated $272.5 million in free cash flow. Thanks to its nice cash position ($583.5 million) and paltry debt ($8.4 million), Dolby is selling for an enterprise value that's barely 10 times its free cash flow.
A business, I remind you, that analysts expects to grow at an annual rate of 14% for the next five years. Not to put too fine a point on this, Fools, but Dolby ain't just a bargain. It's a dirt-cheap dream stock. And if it stays this way for the 10 days I must cool my heels while The Motley Fool's disclosure policy runs its course, I Fool-y intend to buy me some Dolby.
