GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Financial Services » Banks » First Merchants Corp (NAS:FRME) » Definitions » Beneish M-Score

First Merchants (First Merchants) Beneish M-Score : -2.32 (As of Apr. 29, 2024)


View and export this data going back to 1992. Start your Free Trial

What is First Merchants Beneish M-Score?

Note: Financial institutions were excluded from the sample in Beneish paper when calculating Beneish M-Score. Thus, the prediction might not fit banks and insurance companies.

The zones of discrimination for M-Score is as such:

An M-Score of equal or less than -1.78 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.
An M-Score of greater than -1.78 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Good Sign:

Beneish M-Score -2.32 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

The historical rank and industry rank for First Merchants's Beneish M-Score or its related term are showing as below:

FRME' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -2.46   Med: -2.36   Max: -2.1
Current: -2.32

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of First Merchants was -2.10. The lowest was -2.46. And the median was -2.36.


First Merchants Beneish M-Score Calculation

The M-score was created by Professor Messod Beneish. Instead of measuring the bankruptcy risk (Altman Z-Score) or business trend (Piotroski F-Score), M-score can be used to detect the risk of earnings manipulation. This is the original research paper on M-score.

The M-Score Variables:

The M-score of First Merchants for today is based on a combination of the following eight different indices:

M=-4.84+0.92 * DSRI+0.528 * GMI+0.404 * AQI+0.892 * SGI+0.115 * DEPI
=-4.84+0.92 * 1.1077+0.528 * 1+0.404 * 1.0047+0.892 * 1.0364+0.115 * 1.1394
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.0765+4.679 * -0.001904-0.327 * 0.8864
=-2.32

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

This Year (Dec23) TTM:Last Year (Dec22) TTM:
Total Receivables was $97.7 Mil.
Revenue was 156.507 + 161.225 + 164.154 + 169.116 = $651.0 Mil.
Gross Profit was 156.507 + 161.225 + 164.154 + 169.116 = $651.0 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $2,273.5 Mil.
Total Assets was $18,405.9 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $133.9 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $11.7 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $250.8 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $18.9 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $871.5 Mil.
Net Income was 42.479 + 56.366 + 60.862 + 64.079 = $223.8 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = $0.0 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 86.135 + 58.967 + 35.874 + 77.857 = $258.8 Mil.
Total Receivables was $85.1 Mil.
Revenue was 173.106 + 169.923 + 156.938 + 128.177 = $628.1 Mil.
Gross Profit was 173.106 + 169.923 + 156.938 + 128.177 = $628.1 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $2,310.4 Mil.
Total Assets was $18,002.2 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $117.1 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $11.8 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $224.8 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $7.5 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $975.0 Mil.




1. DSRI = Days Sales in Receivables Index

Measured as the ratio of Revenue in Total Receivables in year t to year t-1.

A large increase in DSR could be indicative of revenue inflation.

DSRI=(Receivables_t / Revenue_t) / (Receivables_t-1 / Revenue_t-1)
=(97.664 / 651.002) / (85.07 / 628.144)
=0.150021 / 0.135431
=1.1077

2. GMI = Gross Margin Index

Measured as the ratio of gross margin in year t-1 to gross margin in year t.

Gross margin has deteriorated when this index is above 1. A firm with poorer prospects is more likely to manipulate earnings.

GMI=GrossMargin_t-1 / GrossMargin_t
=(GrossProfit_t-1 / Revenue_t-1) / (GrossProfit_t / Revenue_t)
=(628.144 / 628.144) / (651.002 / 651.002)
=1 / 1
=1

3. AQI = Asset Quality Index

AQI is the ratio of asset quality in year t to year t-1.

Asset quality is measured as the ratio of non-current assets other than Property, Plant and Equipment to Total Assets.

AQI=(1 - (CurrentAssets_t + PPE_t) / TotalAssets_t) / (1 - (CurrentAssets_t-1 + PPE_t-1) / TotalAssets_t-1)
=(1 - (2273.505 + 133.896) / 18405.887) / (1 - (2310.386 + 117.118) / 18002.199)
=0.869205 / 0.865155
=1.0047

4. SGI = Sales Growth Index

Ratio of Revenue in year t to sales in year t-1.

Sales growth is not itself a measure of manipulation. However, growth companies are likely to find themselves under pressure to manipulate in order to keep up appearances.

SGI=Sales_t / Sales_t-1
=Revenue_t / Revenue_t-1
=651.002 / 628.144
=1.0364

5. DEPI = Depreciation Index

Measured as the ratio of the rate of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization in year t-1 to the corresponding rate in year t.

DEPI greater than 1 indicates that assets are being depreciated at a slower rate. This suggests that the firm might be revising useful asset life assumptions upwards, or adopting a new method that is income friendly.

DEPI=(Depreciation_t-1 / (Depreciaton_t-1 + PPE_t-1)) / (Depreciation_t / (Depreciaton_t + PPE_t))
=(11.815 / (11.815 + 117.118)) / (11.711 / (11.711 + 133.896))
=0.091637 / 0.080429
=1.1394

Note: If the Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization data is not available, we assume that the depreciation rate is constant and set the Depreciation Index to 1.

6. SGAI = Sales, General and Administrative expenses Index

The ratio of Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) to Sales in year t relative to year t-1.

SGA expenses index > 1 means that the company is becoming less efficient in generate sales.

SGAI=(SGA_t / Sales_t) / (SGA_t-1 /Sales_t-1)
=(250.846 / 651.002) / (224.836 / 628.144)
=0.385323 / 0.357937
=1.0765

7. LVGI = Leverage Index

The ratio of total debt to Total Assets in year t relative to yeat t-1.

An LVGI > 1 indicates an increase in leverage

LVGI=((LTD_t + CurrentLiabilities_t) / TotalAssets_t) / ((LTD_t-1 + CurrentLiabilities_t-1) / TotalAssets_t-1)
=((871.496 + 18.912) / 18405.887) / ((974.972 + 7.53) / 18002.199)
=0.048376 / 0.054577
=0.8864

8. TATA = Total Accruals to Total Assets

Total accruals calculated as the change in working capital accounts other than cash less depreciation.

TATA=(IncomefromContinuingOperations_t - CashFlowsfromOperations_t) / TotalAssets_t
=(NetIncome_t - NonOperatingIncome_t - CashFlowsfromOperations_t) / TotalAssets_t
=(223.786 - 0 - 258.833) / 18405.887
=-0.001904

An M-Score of equal or less than -1.78 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator. An M-Score of greater than -1.78 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

First Merchants has a M-score of -2.32 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


First Merchants Beneish M-Score Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of First Merchants's Beneish M-Score provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


First Merchants (First Merchants) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
200 East Jackson Street, P.O. Box 792, Muncie, IN, USA, 47305-2814
First Merchants Corp, through its subsidiaries, provides its customers with financial services delivered locally by bankers. It offers personal banking, business banking, real estate mortgage lending, cash management services, brokerage, wealth management, and insurance. The company reports in only one segment that is community banking.
Executives
Michael C Rechin officer: Executive Vice President, other: Chief Operating Officer 13831 COLDWATER DRIVE, CARMEL IN 46032
Michael J Fisher director 200 EAST JACKSON STREET, MUNCIE IN 47305
Jason R Sondhi director 200 E JACKSON ST, MUNCIE IN 47305
Gary Lehman director 200 EAST JACKSON STREET, MUNCIE IN 47305
Mung Chiang director 200 E JACKSON ST, MUNCIE IN 47305
Stephan Fluhler officer: Chief Information Officer, other: Senior Vice President 200 EAST JACKSON STREET, MUNCIE IN 47305
Charles E Schalliol director 300 NORTH MERIDIAN STREET, SUITE 950, INDIANAPOLIS IN 46204
Kevin D Johnson director 200 E JACKSON ST, MUNCIE IN 47305
Patrick J. Fehring director 32991 HAMILTON COURT, FARMINGTON HILLS MI 48334
Patrick A Sherman director 609 TREYBOURNE DRIVE, SUITE A, GREENWOOD IN 46142
Chad Kimball officer: Chief Risk Officer 200 EAST JACKSON STREET, MUNCIE IN 47305
Mark K Hardwick officer: Senior Vice President, other: Chief Financial Officer POST OFFICE BOX 792, MUNICE IN 47308-0792
Michael R Becher director 200 E. JACKSON ST., MUNCIE IN 47305
Michael C Marhenke director 200 EAST JACKSON ST, MUNCIE IN 47305
William L Hoy director 200 EAST JACKSON STREET, MUNCIE IN 47305