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Remember that Star Trek episode when the Enterprise went to the strange planet to investigate an unusual force field? Ok, which episode didn’t have that scenario to start the story? Well this particular episode had them beam down and there was this dude dressed in a toga. He looked like he just came from a Sigma Nu party.
The only thing that didn’t make sense is that he couldn’t have been a Titan because his guns were so scrawny it looked like he had been doing curls with 5 pound weights. It also looked like you could peel potatoes on his shoulders and his legs looked like pipecleaners. What a loser! I would have squished that guy like a grape if I was on the Enterprise. I wouldn’t even want that guy to spot for me. I’d rather ask the girl at the gym who folds the towels.
In that episode, he said he was the god named Apollo. This was probably one of my least favorite Star Trek episodes. Speaking of Apollo, I kind of enjoyed the movie “Apollo 13”.
Oh yeah…now we’re talking. Houston, we have a problem. Did any of you know that there was an ABC Movie of the week called, “Houston, we have a problem”. The only thing I remember about it is that a fat guy took off his vest at the end of the movie and everyone clapped.
There’s lots of reasons to like Apollo. My favorite one is that fact that there is a school where anyone can go to college. It’s the University of Phoenix. That’s right. There are a dozens of University of Phoenixes all over the USA (not just in Phoenix). There are lots of hard working Americans who, for whatever reason, weren’t able to go to college right away but were certainly smart enough and deserving enough to get a good education. That’s why we have the University of Phoenix. We’re gonna to get educated and we’re gonna kick the world’s ass and fix that trade imbalance. That’s right, uh – huh…don’t walk away when I’m talking to you. Who needs to go to Columbia and pay all those tolls when the University of Phoenix wants your fannies in their seats. All you gotta do is pay. Get the picture? It’s a freakin money machine. MACHINE! TOUSAND!!
Today I bought APOL (Apollo Group) at 81.40. I will sell it in 4 to 6 weeks at 94.43. Here’s why I like APOL:
A weak U.S. economy, which has shed 1.9 million jobs this year, and increased global competition have forced more working adults to return to school to get a degree or bolster their resumes and skills. Apollo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various educational programs and services at high school, college, and graduate levels. Apollo's flagship is the University of Phoenix with 140 campuses nationwide - 200 if learning centers are included - and it is the largest publicly traded firm in the space, which includes 20 other for-profit institutions.
They build schools, higher teachers, charge tuition and award degrees. Did you hear the news this week? A bazillion people got laid off. What a great time to further your education! You go to school, get your diploma and don’t miss any work doing it. Increasingly tenuous job security and a slew of never-ending layoffs has fueled a surge in enrollment for Apollo Group's education services. Apollo's strong free cash flow, healthy balance sheet, acyclical business model and identifiable growth drivers make the company attractive in the current volatile economic environment,
Apollo Group, reported earnings that blew past expectations. Its profits grew 24.9% in the company's fiscal first quarter, which ended on Nov. 30. The results were fueled by the increase in the enrollment of degree-seeking students, which jumped more than 18.0%, to 384,900. The recession appears to be the major impetus behind the surge in enrollment. Americans are seeking online degrees as they find themselves searching for new careers after layoffs and years of service in now-shrinking industries. Indeed, Apollo's stock was a strong performer from 2000 to 2003, while the rest of the market tanked. It recently broke out of a cup-with-handle base and is near a 52-week high after a strong earnings report.
Apollo reported its profits on the same day that the U.S. Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate in the United States had reached 7.2%. For the quarter, the company earned $180.4 million, or $1.12 per share, well ahead of the $139.9 million, or 83 cents per share, reported in last year's corresponding quarter. Sales rose 24.0%, to $970.7 million, from $780.7 million. ANAL-ysts expected a more modest profit of 98 cents per share, with sales of $912.4 million. They are such morons. That shows three quarters of earnings and two quarters of sales acceleration.
“Our year-end momentum carried into the first quarter of fiscal 2009 as we continue to benefit from the significant investments we have made over the past several years and we are very pleased with our results,” said Chas Edelstein, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Group. “We reported year-over-year operating income growth of approximately 40% on 24% revenue growth, and Degreed Enrollment reached a record 384,900 students during the quarter. While we cannot quantify the significance of the current economy on our growth, we believe we are experiencing a positive impact, and we continue to generate meaningful cash flow. Additionally, our growth is directly impacted by the efforts of our thousands of employees and faculty who are dedicated to providing great academic service and support to our students.”
From the most recent conference call, I pulled out these nuggets about Apollo:
• We believe that, with our strong balance sheet and our access to capital, we can play an important role in service to the nation and our students, while building further value for our shareholders.
• As a percentage of revenue, instructional costs and services declined 380 basis points to 38.9%, obviously a significant improvement. A primary contributor was savings from lower negotiated contract costs from third-party vendors, particularly in financial aid processing. Processing costs in the area declined 48% year-over-year despite the increased volume and contributed 140 basis points of margin improvement.
• Cash and marketable securities, excluding restricted cash, totaled $821 million versus $511 million at August 31, 2008. We generated approximately $381 million of cash flow from operations during the first quarter, an 83% increase versus a year ago.
The balance sheet is in awesome shape. They don’t have any debt. They can’t fail. If you look at the earnings engine, it looks well oiled. Oh the oil! Oh the Oil!!
Gross margin is at 63.5% vs. Industry average of 28.2%. Return on Equity is 69.6% vs. Industry average of 27.3%. Return on Assets are 32.6% vs. Industry Average of 15.1% and Return on Investment is 68.7% vs. Industry average of 28.6%. Apollo’s earnings growth rate still exceeds its PE.
ANAL-ysts are projecting earnings of $3.80 per share for 2009 on earnings of $3.9 billion. Crack crack crack…do you smoke crack? $$$MR. MARKET$$$ knows the scoop. We’re going to see revenues of $4.0 billion which will spit out earnings of $4.42 per share. Yea this 442 is gonna overheat. Make up your mind girl we gotta get back out on the street. Using the existing PE of 26, this cranks out a share price of $114, which is well past my target.
Apollo Group's chief executive Chas Edelstein gave a careful acknowledgement of the connection. "While we cannot quantify the significance of the current economy on our growth, we believe we are experiencing a positive impact," Edelstein said. Positive impact?? You better believe it. The positive impact is going to be on my stock portfolio.
I am HUGE!!
Bring me your finest meats and cheeses!
$$$MR. MARKET$$$
The only thing that didn’t make sense is that he couldn’t have been a Titan because his guns were so scrawny it looked like he had been doing curls with 5 pound weights. It also looked like you could peel potatoes on his shoulders and his legs looked like pipecleaners. What a loser! I would have squished that guy like a grape if I was on the Enterprise. I wouldn’t even want that guy to spot for me. I’d rather ask the girl at the gym who folds the towels.
In that episode, he said he was the god named Apollo. This was probably one of my least favorite Star Trek episodes. Speaking of Apollo, I kind of enjoyed the movie “Apollo 13”.
Oh yeah…now we’re talking. Houston, we have a problem. Did any of you know that there was an ABC Movie of the week called, “Houston, we have a problem”. The only thing I remember about it is that a fat guy took off his vest at the end of the movie and everyone clapped.
There’s lots of reasons to like Apollo. My favorite one is that fact that there is a school where anyone can go to college. It’s the University of Phoenix. That’s right. There are a dozens of University of Phoenixes all over the USA (not just in Phoenix). There are lots of hard working Americans who, for whatever reason, weren’t able to go to college right away but were certainly smart enough and deserving enough to get a good education. That’s why we have the University of Phoenix. We’re gonna to get educated and we’re gonna kick the world’s ass and fix that trade imbalance. That’s right, uh – huh…don’t walk away when I’m talking to you. Who needs to go to Columbia and pay all those tolls when the University of Phoenix wants your fannies in their seats. All you gotta do is pay. Get the picture? It’s a freakin money machine. MACHINE! TOUSAND!!
Today I bought APOL (Apollo Group) at 81.40. I will sell it in 4 to 6 weeks at 94.43. Here’s why I like APOL:
A weak U.S. economy, which has shed 1.9 million jobs this year, and increased global competition have forced more working adults to return to school to get a degree or bolster their resumes and skills. Apollo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various educational programs and services at high school, college, and graduate levels. Apollo's flagship is the University of Phoenix with 140 campuses nationwide - 200 if learning centers are included - and it is the largest publicly traded firm in the space, which includes 20 other for-profit institutions.
They build schools, higher teachers, charge tuition and award degrees. Did you hear the news this week? A bazillion people got laid off. What a great time to further your education! You go to school, get your diploma and don’t miss any work doing it. Increasingly tenuous job security and a slew of never-ending layoffs has fueled a surge in enrollment for Apollo Group's education services. Apollo's strong free cash flow, healthy balance sheet, acyclical business model and identifiable growth drivers make the company attractive in the current volatile economic environment,
Apollo Group, reported earnings that blew past expectations. Its profits grew 24.9% in the company's fiscal first quarter, which ended on Nov. 30. The results were fueled by the increase in the enrollment of degree-seeking students, which jumped more than 18.0%, to 384,900. The recession appears to be the major impetus behind the surge in enrollment. Americans are seeking online degrees as they find themselves searching for new careers after layoffs and years of service in now-shrinking industries. Indeed, Apollo's stock was a strong performer from 2000 to 2003, while the rest of the market tanked. It recently broke out of a cup-with-handle base and is near a 52-week high after a strong earnings report.
Apollo reported its profits on the same day that the U.S. Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate in the United States had reached 7.2%. For the quarter, the company earned $180.4 million, or $1.12 per share, well ahead of the $139.9 million, or 83 cents per share, reported in last year's corresponding quarter. Sales rose 24.0%, to $970.7 million, from $780.7 million. ANAL-ysts expected a more modest profit of 98 cents per share, with sales of $912.4 million. They are such morons. That shows three quarters of earnings and two quarters of sales acceleration.
“Our year-end momentum carried into the first quarter of fiscal 2009 as we continue to benefit from the significant investments we have made over the past several years and we are very pleased with our results,” said Chas Edelstein, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Group. “We reported year-over-year operating income growth of approximately 40% on 24% revenue growth, and Degreed Enrollment reached a record 384,900 students during the quarter. While we cannot quantify the significance of the current economy on our growth, we believe we are experiencing a positive impact, and we continue to generate meaningful cash flow. Additionally, our growth is directly impacted by the efforts of our thousands of employees and faculty who are dedicated to providing great academic service and support to our students.”
From the most recent conference call, I pulled out these nuggets about Apollo:
• We believe that, with our strong balance sheet and our access to capital, we can play an important role in service to the nation and our students, while building further value for our shareholders.
• As a percentage of revenue, instructional costs and services declined 380 basis points to 38.9%, obviously a significant improvement. A primary contributor was savings from lower negotiated contract costs from third-party vendors, particularly in financial aid processing. Processing costs in the area declined 48% year-over-year despite the increased volume and contributed 140 basis points of margin improvement.
• Cash and marketable securities, excluding restricted cash, totaled $821 million versus $511 million at August 31, 2008. We generated approximately $381 million of cash flow from operations during the first quarter, an 83% increase versus a year ago.
The balance sheet is in awesome shape. They don’t have any debt. They can’t fail. If you look at the earnings engine, it looks well oiled. Oh the oil! Oh the Oil!!
Gross margin is at 63.5% vs. Industry average of 28.2%. Return on Equity is 69.6% vs. Industry average of 27.3%. Return on Assets are 32.6% vs. Industry Average of 15.1% and Return on Investment is 68.7% vs. Industry average of 28.6%. Apollo’s earnings growth rate still exceeds its PE.
ANAL-ysts are projecting earnings of $3.80 per share for 2009 on earnings of $3.9 billion. Crack crack crack…do you smoke crack? $$$MR. MARKET$$$ knows the scoop. We’re going to see revenues of $4.0 billion which will spit out earnings of $4.42 per share. Yea this 442 is gonna overheat. Make up your mind girl we gotta get back out on the street. Using the existing PE of 26, this cranks out a share price of $114, which is well past my target.
Apollo Group's chief executive Chas Edelstein gave a careful acknowledgement of the connection. "While we cannot quantify the significance of the current economy on our growth, we believe we are experiencing a positive impact," Edelstein said. Positive impact?? You better believe it. The positive impact is going to be on my stock portfolio.
I am HUGE!!
Bring me your finest meats and cheeses!
$$$MR. MARKET$$$
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