Designer Brands (FRA:D9W) Beneish M-Score: -2.60 (As of Aug. 11, 2026)

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FRA:D9W Designer Brands Inc FRA:D9W
71 GF Score
Price €5.65
GF Value €5.75
! 6 Warning Signs
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What is Designer Brands Beneish M-Score?

Designer Brands FRA:D9W +0.89% 71 Beneish M-Score is -2.60 as of Aug. 11, 2026. GuruFocus rates FRA:D9W with a GF Score™ of 71/100 and a GF Value™ of €5.75. The stock has 6 warning signs investors should review. Among 998 Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories companies, Designer Brands ranks better than 56.31% on this metric.

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 -2.6 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

FRA:D9W' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.35   Med: -2.82   Max: -0.78
Current: -2.6

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Designer Brands was -0.78. The lowest was -3.35. And the median was -2.82.


Designer Brands Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Designer Brands'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.

Designer Brands Beneish M-Score Chart

Designer Brands Annual Data
Trend Jan17 Jan18 Jan19 Jan20 Jan21 Jan22 Jan23 Jan24 Jan25 Jan26
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.79 -3.03 -2.60 -3.04 -2.60

Designer Brands Quarterly Data
Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24 Apr24 Jul24 Oct24 Jan25 Apr25 Jul25 Oct25 Jan26 Apr26
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 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2.60 0.00

FRA:D9W vs FWDI, RCKY, FOSL: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Footwear & Accessories subindustry, Designer Brands'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.


Designer Brands Beneish M-Score vs Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories Industry

For the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Designer Brands's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


FRA:D9W
71GF Score
Designer Brands Inc FRA:D9W
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Designer Brands 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 Designer Brands 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 * 1.2277+0.528 * 0.9808+0.404 * 0.9919+0.892 * 0.8468+0.115 * 1.0518
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1+4.679 * -0.064-0.327 * 0.9734
=-2.71

* 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 (Jan26) TTM:Last Year (Jan25) TTM:
Total Receivables was €51 Mil.
Revenue was €2,462 Mil.
Gross Profit was €1,073 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €603 Mil.
Total Assets was €1,657 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €756 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €50 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €0 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €501 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €872 Mil.
Net Income was €-7 Mil.
Gross Profit was €5 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was €93 Mil.
Total Receivables was €49 Mil.
Revenue was €2,907 Mil.
Gross Profit was €1,242 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €710 Mil.
Total Assets was €1,941 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €879 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €62 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €0 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €570 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €1,081 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)
=(50.587 / 2461.663) / (48.658 / 2906.947)
=0.02055 / 0.016739
=1.2277

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)
=(1242.235 / 2906.947) / (1072.592 / 2461.663)
=0.427333 / 0.435718
=0.9808

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 - (602.634 + 756.487) / 1657.436) / (1 - (709.84 + 878.886) / 1940.91)
=0.179986 / 0.181453
=0.9919

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
=2461.663 / 2906.947
=0.8468

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))
=(61.651 / (61.651 + 878.886)) / (50.276 / (50.276 + 756.487))
=0.065549 / 0.062318
=1.0518

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)
=(0 / 2461.663) / (0 / 2906.947)
=0 / 0
=1

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)
=((872.099 + 500.791) / 1657.436) / ((1081.303 + 570.279) / 1940.91)
=0.828322 / 0.850932
=0.9734

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
=(-7.126 - 5.459 - 93.491) / 1657.436
=-0.064

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.

Designer Brands has a M-score of -2.71 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Beneish M-Score →
What does a Beneish M-Score of -2.60 mean?
Designer Brands (FRA:D9W) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.60 as of Aug. 11, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Designer Brands and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Designer Brands ranks #436 out of 998 companies in the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry, placing it in the top 43.7%.
Is Designer Brands' Beneish M-Score too high?
Designer Brands' current Beneish M-Score is -2.60. Based on the distribution chart, Designer Brands ranks #436 out of 998 companies in the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, Designer Brands has a GF Score™ of 71/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Designer Brands' Beneish M-Score compare to FWDI and RCKY?
According to the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry distribution chart, Designer Brands ranks #436 out of 998 companies for Beneish M-Score. This puts Designer Brands in the upper half of its industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Beneish M-Score for a Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry context. However, Beneish M-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Beneish M-Score mean?
A high Beneish M-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Designer Brands and its competitors. Designer Brands's current Beneish M-Score is -2.60. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Designer Brands stock overvalued right now?
Designer Brands (FRA:D9W) has a current Beneish M-Score of -2.60. The stock's GF Value™ is €5.75, compared to a current price of €5.65 — trading 1.7% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.60. Designer Brands' overall GF Score™ is 71/100 with 6 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Beneish M-Score calculated?
Beneish M-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Designer Brands (FRA:D9W), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.60 as of Aug. 11, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Designer Brands (FRA:D9W) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Designer Brands stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of €5.65 is trading 1.7% below its estimated GF Value™ of €5.75.

Key valuation signals for FRA:D9W:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.60
  • GF Value™: €5.75 vs. price of €5.65 (1.7% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 71/100 with 6 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the FRA:D9W stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Designer Brands Business Description

Other Exchanges DBI:USA
Address 810 DSW Drive, Columbus, OH, USA, 43219
Designer Brands Inc is a designer, producer, and retailer of footwear and accessories. The company operates in two reportable segments: the Retail segment and the Brand Portfolio segment. The Retail segment, which derives key revenue, operates the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse ("DSW") banner through its direct-to-consumer stores and e-commerce sites in the United States ("U.S.") and Canada, and the Shoe Co. and Rubino banners through its direct-to-consumer stores and e-commerce sites in Canada. The Brand Portfolio segment principally earns revenue from the wholesale of its exclusive and licensed brands to retailers, its Retail segment, and international distributors, and the sale of its Vince Camuto, Keds, and Topo brands through direct-to-consumer e-commerce sites.
71GF Score

Get the complete analysis for FRA:D9W

Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

€5.65
Price
€5.75
GF Value