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FA (First Advantage) Beneish M-Score : -3.16 (As of Dec. 12, 2024)


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What is First Advantage Beneish M-Score?

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 -3.16 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

FA' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -5.98   Med: -2.87   Max: -1.53
Current: -3.16

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of First Advantage was -1.53. The lowest was -5.98. And the median was -2.87.


First Advantage Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for First Advantage's Beneish M-Score can be seen below:

* 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.

* Premium members only.

First Advantage Beneish M-Score Chart

First Advantage Annual Data
Trend Dec04 Dec05 Dec06 Dec07 Dec08 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -5.93 -2.90 -1.53 -2.91 -2.85

First Advantage Quarterly Data
Sep09 Dec19 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24
Beneish M-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.81 -2.85 -2.89 -3.00 -3.16

Competitive Comparison of First Advantage's Beneish M-Score

For the Specialty Business Services subindustry, First Advantage's Beneish M-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Beneish M-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


First Advantage's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Business Services Industry

For the Business Services industry and Industrials sector, First Advantage's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where First Advantage's Beneish M-Score falls into.



First Advantage 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 Advantage 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 * 0.9172+0.528 * 0.9935+0.404 * 0.9373+0.892 * 0.9765+0.115 * 0.8619
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.3317+4.679 * -0.099989-0.327 * 1.0266
=-3.16

* 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 (Sep24) TTM:Last Year (Sep23) TTM:
Total Receivables was $145.8 Mil.
Revenue was 199.119 + 184.546 + 169.416 + 202.562 = $755.6 Mil.
Gross Profit was 98.24 + 92.198 + 82.224 + 101.253 = $373.9 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $467.0 Mil.
Total Assets was $1,657.1 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $55.4 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $123.1 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $153.2 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $121.4 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $564.2 Mil.
Net Income was -8.86 + 1.861 + -2.908 + 14.813 = $4.9 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = $0.0 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 43.49 + 32.043 + 38.329 + 56.74 = $170.6 Mil.
Total Receivables was $162.8 Mil.
Revenue was 200.364 + 185.315 + 175.52 + 212.595 = $773.8 Mil.
Gross Profit was 98.954 + 92.318 + 84.459 + 104.69 = $380.4 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $349.3 Mil.
Total Assets was $1,629.4 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $89.7 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $131.4 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $117.8 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $94.8 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $561.9 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)
=(145.828 / 755.643) / (162.805 / 773.794)
=0.192985 / 0.210398
=0.9172

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)
=(380.421 / 773.794) / (373.915 / 755.643)
=0.491631 / 0.49483
=0.9935

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 - (466.975 + 55.403) / 1657.134) / (1 - (349.314 + 89.673) / 1629.447)
=0.68477 / 0.730591
=0.9373

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
=755.643 / 773.794
=0.9765

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))
=(131.402 / (131.402 + 89.673)) / (123.1 / (123.1 + 55.403))
=0.594377 / 0.689624
=0.8619

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)
=(153.203 / 755.643) / (117.806 / 773.794)
=0.202745 / 0.152245
=1.3317

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)
=((564.184 + 121.352) / 1657.134) / ((561.859 + 94.782) / 1629.447)
=0.413688 / 0.402984
=1.0266

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
=(4.906 - 0 - 170.602) / 1657.134
=-0.099989

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 Advantage has a M-score of -3.16 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


First Advantage Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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First Advantage Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
1 Concourse Parkway Northeast, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA, USA, 30328
First Advantage Corp is a provider of employment background screening and verification solutions. The company delivers services and insights that help its customers manage risk and hire talent. The Company has two reportable segments, Americas and International. The Americas segment provides technology solutions for screening, verifications, safety, and compliance in the United States, Canada, and Latin America markets. and the International segment provides technology solutions for screening, verifications, safety, and compliance outside of the Americas. The company derives its maximum revenue from America.
Executives
Bret T Jardine officer: See Remarks 100 CARILLON PARKWAY, ST. PETERSBURG FL 33716
Joseph K. Jaeger officer: President, Americas C/O FIRST ADVANTAGE CORPORATION, 1 CONCOURSE PARKWAY NE, SUITE 200, ATLANTA GA 30328
James Lindsey Clark director 1819 DANFORTH DRIVE, MARIETTA GA 30062
Silver Lake Group, L.l.c. director, 10 percent owner 2775 SAND HILL ROAD, SUITE 100, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Joelle M Smith officer: See Remarks C/O FIRST ADVANTAGE CORPORATION, 1 CONCOURSE PARKWAY NE, SUITE 200, ATLANTA GA 30328
Bridgett R Price director C/O FIRST ADVANTAGE CORPORATION, 1 CONCOURSE PARKWAY NE, SUITE 200, ATLANTA GA 30328
Steven Irwin Marks officer: Chief Accounting Officer C/O FIRST ADVANTAGE CORPORATION, 1 CONCOURSE PARKWAY NE, SUITE 200, ATLANTA GA 30328
Slta V (gp), L.l.c. director, 10 percent owner C/O SILVER LAKE, 2775 SAND HILL ROAD, SUITE 100, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Scott Staples director, officer: Chief Executive Officer C/O FIRST ADVANTAGE CORPORATION, 1 CONCOURSE PARKWAY NE, SUITE 200, ATLANTA GA 30328
David L Gamsey officer: EVP & Chief Financial Officer
Slp Fastball Aggregator, L.p. director, 10 percent owner C/O SILVER LAKE, 2776 SAND HILL ROAD, SUITE 100, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Slp V Aggregator Gp, L.l.c. director, 10 percent owner C/O SILVER LAKE, 2775 SAND HILL ROAD, SUITE 100, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Judith Sim director C/O FORTINET, INC., 899 KIFER ROAD, SUNNYVALE CA 94086
Bianca Stoica director C/O SILVER LAKE, 2776 SAND HILL ROAD, SUITE 100, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Joseph Osnoss director C/O SILVER LAKE EUROPE LLP, BROADBENT HOUSE, 65 GROSVENOR STREET, LONDON X0 W1K 3JH