On Nov. 15, services and manufacturing conglomerate Tyco International (NYSE:TYC) released Q4 2006 earnings for the period ended Sept. 29.

  • Net profits include $0.12 per share of net pro forma gains, if you want to compare results with analyst forecasts on an apples-to-apples basis. Items include legal settlements, tax gains, and various restructuring charges.

  • Free cash flow grew faster than sales but slower than earnings. It's not ideal, but you gotta start somewhere.

  • Most of your fellow Fools seem to like Tyco, according to our CAPS community. The three-star stock rates 100 bullish ratings vs. 15 bears, and our all-star players are unanimously in favor with 25 outperforms. Add your own insights here.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Sales

$10,540

$10,760

$9,935

8.3%

Net Profit*

--

$1,287

$867

48.4%

EPS*

$0.49

$0.63

$0.41

53.7%

Diluted Shares

2043

2127

(3.9%)

*Earnings under generally accepted accounting principles from continuing operations, excluding the divested printed circuit boards division.

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

Margin Checkup

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

33.38%

34.02%

(0.64)

Operating Margin

14.01%

10.49%

3.52

Net Margin

11.96%

8.73%

3.23

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$2,926

$3,212

(8.9%)

Accounts Rec.

$7,064

$6,657

6.1%

Inventory

$4,794

$4,144

15.7%



Liabilities

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Accounts Payable

$3,527

$3,019

16.8%

Long-Term Debt*

$10,173

$12,529

(18.8%)

*Including current portions of long-term debt -- $808 million in the 2006 period and $1.9 billion in 2005.

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Cash From Ops.

$2,402.0

$2,110.0

13.8%

Capital Expenditures

$451.0

$380.0

18.7%

Free Cash Flow

$1,951.0

$1,730.0

12.8%



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Cash Conversion Checkup

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Days in Inventory

60.4

59.8

0.6

Days in Receivables

59.0

62.6

(3.6)

Days Payables Outstanding

42.8

40.9

1.8

Cash Conversion Cycle

76.6

81.4

(4.8)



Read up on cash conversion metrics.

Related Companies:

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  • Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG)
  • Honeywell International (NYSE:HON)
  • Corning (NYSE:GLW)

Related Foolishness:

Tyco is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick.Inside Value gives subscribers the big names with the best prospects for good returns. A free trial gives you all the picks and how they're doing.TTM Technologies is aStock Advisorselection.

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, Fool contributor Anders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.