Kadant (FRA:KDA) Beneish M-Score: -2.59 (As of Jun. 24, 2026)


FRA:KDA Kadant Inc FRA:KDA
87 GF Score
Price €264.00
GF Value €295.80
Valuation Modestly Undervalued
! 4 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Kadant Beneish M-Score?

Kadant FRA:KDA +0.76% 87 Beneish M-Score is -2.59 as of Jun. 24, 2026. GuruFocus rates FRA:KDA with a GF Score™ of 87/100 and a GF Value™ of €295.80 (Modestly Undervalued). The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review. Among 2,926 Industrial Products companies, Kadant ranks better than 62.71% 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 -2.59 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

FRA:KDA' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -2.79   Med: -2.56   Max: -2.13
Current: -2.59

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Kadant was -2.13. The lowest was -2.79. And the median was -2.56.


Kadant Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Kadant'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.

Kadant Beneish M-Score Chart

Kadant Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.58 -2.30 -2.62 -2.56 -2.67

Kadant Quarterly Data
Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26
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 -2.62 -2.66 -2.67 -2.67 -2.59

FRA:KDA vs MWA, SXI, FELE: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Specialty Industrial Machinery subindustry, Kadant'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.


Kadant Beneish M-Score vs Industrial Products Industry

For the Industrial Products industry and Industrials sector, Kadant's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


FRA:KDA
87GF Score
Kadant Inc FRA:KDA
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Kadant 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 Kadant 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 * 1.0847+0.528 * 0.9918+0.404 * 0.981+0.892 * 0.972+0.115 * 1.0457
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.063+4.679 * -0.037858-0.327 * 1.0833
=-2.65

* 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 (Mar26) TTM:Last Year (Mar25) TTM:
Total Receivables was €154.2 Mil.
Revenue was 243.502 + 244.418 + 231.375 + 221.316 = €940.6 Mil.
Gross Profit was 109.598 + 107.344 + 104.507 + 101.475 = €422.9 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €486.7 Mil.
Total Assets was €1,483.2 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €167.2 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €46.3 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €269.2 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €196.7 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €311.6 Mil.
Net Income was 22.065 + 20.517 + 23.619 + 22.68 = €88.9 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -0.011 + -1.129 + -0.016 + -0.015 = €-1.2 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 18.957 + 51.888 + 40.259 + 35.098 = €146.2 Mil.
Total Receivables was €146.3 Mil.
Revenue was 221.269 + 246.419 + 244.724 + 255.257 = €967.7 Mil.
Gross Profit was 102.055 + 106.826 + 109.417 + 113.233 = €431.5 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €413.2 Mil.
Total Assets was €1,327.8 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €157.8 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €46.3 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €260.5 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €167.1 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €253.0 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)
=(154.227 / 940.611) / (146.269 / 967.669)
=0.163965 / 0.151156
=1.0847

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)
=(431.531 / 967.669) / (422.924 / 940.611)
=0.445949 / 0.449627
=0.9918

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 - (486.686 + 167.192) / 1483.174) / (1 - (413.225 + 157.757) / 1327.781)
=0.559136 / 0.569973
=0.981

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
=940.611 / 967.669
=0.972

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))
=(46.255 / (46.255 + 157.757)) / (46.284 / (46.284 + 167.192))
=0.226727 / 0.216811
=1.0457

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)
=(269.173 / 940.611) / (260.513 / 967.669)
=0.286168 / 0.269217
=1.063

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)
=((311.573 + 196.73) / 1483.174) / ((252.986 + 167.076) / 1327.781)
=0.342713 / 0.316364
=1.0833

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
=(88.881 - -1.171 - 146.202) / 1483.174
=-0.037858

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.

Kadant has a M-score of -2.65 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 -2.59 mean?
Kadant (FRA:KDA) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.59 as of Jun. 24, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Kadant and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Kadant ranks #1091 out of 2926 companies in the Industrial Products industry, placing it in the top 37.3%.
Is Kadant's Beneish M-Score too high?
Kadant's current Beneish M-Score is -2.59. Based on the distribution chart, Kadant ranks #1091 out of 2926 companies in the Industrial Products industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, Kadant has a GF Score™ of 87/100 and is considered Modestly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Kadant's Beneish M-Score compare to MWA and SXI?
According to the Industrial Products industry distribution chart, Kadant ranks #1091 out of 2926 companies for Beneish M-Score. This puts Kadant 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 an Industrial Products company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Industrial Products 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 Kadant and its competitors. Kadant's current Beneish M-Score is -2.59. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Kadant stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Kadant (FRA:KDA) is currently considered Modestly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is €295.80, compared to a current price of €264.00 — trading 10.8% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.59. Kadant's overall GF Score™ is 87/100 with 4 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 Kadant (FRA:KDA), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.59 as of Jun. 24, 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 Kadant (FRA:KDA) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Kadant stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of €264.00 is trading 10.8% below its estimated GF Value™ of €295.80. GuruFocus considers Kadant to be Modestly Undervalued.

Key valuation signals for FRA:KDA:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.59
  • GF Value™: €295.80 vs. price of €264.00 (10.8% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 87/100 with 4 warning signs

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


Kadant Business Description

Other Exchanges KAI:USAKDA:Germany
Address One Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA, USA, 01886
Kadant Inc. supplies process and engineering equipment for papermaking, recycling, lumber manufacturing, and related industries. The company's three reportable segments are the Flow Control segment which consists of the fluid-handling and doctoring, cleaning, & filtration product lines; the Industrial Processing segment which consists of the wood processing and stock-preparation product lines; and Material handling systems, which provides conveyor-belt equipment for industries such as mining, food processing, and packaging. The company has a geographic presence in the U.S., China, Asia, Germany, Canada, and Others.
87GF Score

Get the complete analysis for FRA:KDA

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

€264.00
Price
€295.80
GF Value