ISA Holdings (JSE:ISA) Beneish M-Score: -1.83 (As of Jul. 01, 2026)

What is ISA Holdings Beneish M-Score?

ISA Holdings JSE:ISA +4.48% 88 Beneish M-Score is -1.83 as of Jul. 01, 2026. GuruFocus rates JSE:ISA with a GF Score™ of 88/100 and a GF Value™ of R2.23 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 2,630 Software companies, ISA Holdings ranks worse than 80.3% 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 -1.83 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

JSE:ISA' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.04 Med: -2.28 Max: -0.52
Current: -1.83

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of ISA Holdings was -0.52. The lowest was -3.04. And the median was -2.28.

ISA Holdings Beneish M-Score Related Terms

ISA Holdings Beneish M-Score Historical Data

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The historical data trend for ISA Holdings'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.

ISA Holdings Beneish M-Score Chart

ISA Holdings Annual Data

Trend

Feb17

Feb18

Feb19

Feb20

Feb21

Feb22

Feb23

Feb24

Feb25

Feb26

Beneish M-Score

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-0.52

-1.89

-1.70

-2.59

-1.83

ISA Holdings Semi-Annual Data
	Aug16	Feb17	Aug17	Feb18	Aug18	Feb19	Aug19	Feb20	Aug20	Feb21	Aug21	Feb22	Aug22	Feb23	Aug23	Feb24	Aug24	Feb25	Aug25	Feb26
Beneish M-Score	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															-1.70	0.00	-2.59	0.00	-1.83

JSE:ISA vs MSFT, ORCL, PLTR: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Software - Infrastructure subindustry, ISA Holdings'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.

ISA Holdings Beneish M-Score vs Software Industry

For the Software industry and Technology sector, ISA Holdings's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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

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88GF Score

ISA Holdings Ltd JSE:ISA

Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.

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ISA Holdings 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 ISA Holdings for today is based on a combination of the following eight different indices:

-4.84

0.92 * DSRI

0.528 * GMI

0.404 * AQI

0.892 * SGI

0.115 * DEPI

-4.84

0.92 * 1.2831

0.528 * 0.9496

0.404 * 0.2333

0.892 * 1.0864

0.115 * 1.1193

0.172 * SGAI

4.679 * TATA

0.327 * LVGI

0.172 * 0.3474

4.679 * 0.119766

0.327 * 1.1209

-1.83

This Year (Feb26) TTM:

Last Year (Feb25) TTM:

Total Receivables was R18.6 Mil.
Revenue was R127.9 Mil.
Gross Profit was R64.2 Mil.
Total Current Assets was R66.1 Mil.
Total Assets was R86.5 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was R13.9 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was R0.7 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was R1.2 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was R25.9 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was R0.0 Mil.
Net Income was R28.6 Mil.
Gross Profit was R0.0 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was R18.2 Mil.

Total Receivables was R13.3 Mil.
Revenue was R117.7 Mil.
Gross Profit was R56.1 Mil.
Total Current Assets was R52.7 Mil.
Total Assets was R99.2 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was R14.3 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was R0.8 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was R3.2 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was R26.5 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was R0.0 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)
	=	(18.569 / 127.887)	/	(13.322 / 117.721)
	=	0.145198	/	0.113166
	=	1.2831

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)
	=	(56.09 / 117.721)	/	(64.166 / 127.887)
	=	0.476466	/	0.50174
	=	0.9496

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 - (66.056 + 13.905) / 86.519)	/	(1 - (52.679 + 14.287) / 99.187)
	=	0.075798	/	0.324851
	=	0.2333

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
	=	127.887	/	117.721
	=	1.0864

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))
	=	(0.825 / (0.825 + 14.287))	/	(0.713 / (0.713 + 13.905))
	=	0.054592	/	0.048775
	=	1.1193

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)
	=	(1.213 / 127.887)	/	(3.214 / 117.721)
	=	0.009485	/	0.027302
	=	0.3474

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)
	=	((0 + 25.874) / 86.519)	/	((0 + 26.464) / 99.187)
	=	0.299056	/	0.266809
	=	1.1209

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
	=	(28.577 - 0	-	18.215)	/	86.519
	=	0.119766

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.

ISA Holdings has a M-score of -1.83 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 -1.83 mean?

ISA Holdings (JSE:ISA) has a Beneish M-Score of -1.83 as of Jul. 01, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on ISA Holdings and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, ISA Holdings ranks #2112 out of 2630 companies in the Software industry, placing it in the top 80.3%.

Is ISA Holdings' Beneish M-Score too high?

ISA Holdings' current Beneish M-Score is -1.83. Based on the distribution chart, ISA Holdings ranks #2112 out of 2630 companies in the Software industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, ISA Holdings has a GF Score™ of 88/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.

How does ISA Holdings' Beneish M-Score compare to MSFT and ORCL?

According to the Software industry distribution chart, ISA Holdings ranks #2112 out of 2630 companies for Beneish M-Score. This places ISA Holdings in the lower 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 Software company?

A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Software 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 ISA Holdings and its competitors. ISA Holdings's current Beneish M-Score is -1.83. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.

Is ISA Holdings stock overvalued right now?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, ISA Holdings (JSE:ISA) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is R2.23, compared to a current price of R2.10 — trading 5.8% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -1.83. ISA Holdings' overall GF Score™ is 88/100 with 3 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 ISA Holdings (JSE:ISA), the current Beneish M-Score is -1.83 as of Jul. 01, 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 ISA Holdings (JSE:ISA) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, ISA Holdings stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of R2.10 is trading 5.8% below its estimated GF Value™ of R2.23. GuruFocus considers ISA Holdings to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for JSE:ISA:

Beneish M-Score: -1.83
GF Value™: R2.23 vs. price of R2.10 (5.8% below fair value)
GF Score™: 88/100 with 3 warning signs

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

ISA Holdings Business Description

Industry Technology Software

Comparable Companies JSE:4SI JSE:PBT JSE:NTU MSFT ORCL PLTR PANW CRWD HKSE:02513 FTNT SNPS NET CRWV XYZ XAMS:ADYEN NTAP TWLO MDB VRSN FFIV

Address 33 Riley Road, Block 9, Pinewood Office Park, Woodmead, Sandton, Johannesburg, GT, ZAF, 2146

Website https://www.isa.co.za

ISA Holdings Ltd is an investment holding company. The company, through its subsidiary, provides network, Internet, and information security solutions to the sub-Saharan African market. Its business is to discover, design, deliver, deploy, and manage its bespoke Information and Communication Technology (ICT) security infrastructure. Its technology offerings include firewalls, anti-virus, authentication, remote access, content security, intrusion protection, virtual private networking, vulnerability assessment, messaging and data protection, and identity and access management. The company generates a majority of its revenue from its business in South Africa.

88GF Score

Get the complete analysis for JSE:ISA

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

R2.10

Price

R2.23

GF Value

View JSE:ISA Analysis

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