The Right Numbers Don't Lie By Jim Cramer About this article: It's linked quarter, stupid, not year on year. So many people seem so stymied by the down-25% quarters they are seeing, that they can't figure out why any stock would run on these numbers. The answer is that people are looking at the wrong comparables. They should be examining linked quarters -- how a company did this quarter versus the previous quarter and taking into account the seasonality of quarters. The third's usually worse than the second, because of the summer, so these numbers have been pretty darned good. A case in point is Eaton, which just reported. Eaton's numbers are miserable against last year and it seems like business has fallen off a cliff. But if you read through the release, you will see pick-ups in some important industries, including residential and commercial electric, trucking and best of all, CARS (think JCI)! Indeed, Eaton is seeing... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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