On Wednesday, Aug. 23, Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ:CWTR) released second-quarter 2006 earnings for the period ending July 29.

  • Sales and profits both blew away year-ago numbers as well as analyst estimates.
  • Gross margins expanded faster than the operational figures, pointing to great pricing power but some room for improvement in operational efficiency.
  • Coldwater is spending freely on expansion, but with no debt on the balance sheet, all of the growth is powered by cash flows.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q2 2006

Q2 2005

Change

Sales

$197

$216

$153

41.2%

Net Profit

--

$12

$6

93.5%

EPS

$0.10

$0.13

$0.07

85.7%

Diluted Shares

95

94

0.4%



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

Margin Checkup

Q2 2006

Q2 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

46.81%

43.31%

3.50

Operating Margin

8.32%

6.13%

2.19

Net Margin

5.55%

4.04%

1.51

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q2 2006

Q2 2005

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$113

$93

21.6%

Accounts Rec.

$29

$26

13.3%

Inventory

$124

$74

67.2%



Liabilities

Q2 2006

Q2 2005

Change

Accounts Payable

$89

$51

74.5%

Long-Term Debt

$0

$0

N/A



Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q2 2006

Q2 2005

Change

Cash From Ops.

$23

$12

90.8%

Capital Expenditures

$45

$30

49.8%

Free Cash Flow

($23)

($18)

-23.4%



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

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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 .