Kohl's (MEX:KSS) Beneish M-Score: -2.98 (As of Jun. 26, 2026)


MEX:KSS Kohl's Corp MEX:KSS
59 GF Score
Price MXN326.50
GF Value MXN299.51
Valuation Fairly Valued
! 6 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Kohl's Beneish M-Score?

Kohl's MEX:KSS 59 Beneish M-Score is -2.98 as of Jun. 26, 2026. GuruFocus rates MEX:KSS with a GF Score™ of 59/100 and a GF Value™ of MXN299.51 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 6 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,087 Retail - Cyclical companies, Kohl's ranks better than 76.63% 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 -2.98 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

MEX:KSS' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.86   Med: -2.9   Max: 1.16
Current: -2.98

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Kohl's was 1.16. The lowest was -3.86. And the median was -2.90.


Kohl's Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Kohl's'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.

Kohl's Beneish M-Score Chart

Kohl's 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 -3.37 -2.50 -2.98 -2.60 -3.15

Kohl's 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 -2.67 -2.82 -2.90 -3.15 -2.98

MEX:KSS vs PLBL, M, DDS: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Department Stores subindustry, Kohl's'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.


Kohl's Beneish M-Score vs Retail - Cyclical Industry

For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Kohl's's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


MEX:KSS
59GF Score
Kohl's Corp MEX:KSS
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Kohl's 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 Kohl's 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+0.528 * 0.9934+0.404 * 0.9054+0.892 * 0.8737+0.115 * 0.9698
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.0092+4.679 * -0.097365-0.327 * 0.9538
=-3.08

* 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 (Apr26) TTM:Last Year (Apr25) TTM:
Total Receivables was MXN0 Mil.
Revenue was 55473.489 + 89747.929 + 66303.738 + 66654.162 = MXN278,179 Mil.
Gross Profit was 23909.477 + 32078.856 + 28116.494 + 28853.395 = MXN112,958 Mil.
Total Current Assets was MXN63,969 Mil.
Total Assets was MXN230,599 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was MXN159,344 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was MXN12,620 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was MXN91,400 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was MXN43,177 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was MXN111,210 Mil.
Net Income was -245.225 + 2168.663 + 148.372 + 2875.941 = MXN4,948 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0 + 0 + -74.186 + 2218.046 = MXN2,144 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was -1296.191 + 13011.975 + 2299.766 + 11240.606 = MXN25,256 Mil.
Total Receivables was MXN0 Mil.
Revenue was 63338.996 + 111334.713 + 74316.494 + 69405.87 = MXN318,396 Mil.
Gross Profit was 27408.369 + 39690.196 + 31509.392 + 29830.39 = MXN128,438 Mil.
Total Current Assets was MXN70,137 Mil.
Total Assets was MXN267,207 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was MXN187,744 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was MXN14,386 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was MXN103,660 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was MXN64,260 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was MXN123,308 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)
=(0 / 278179.318) / (0 / 318396.073)
=0 / 0
=1

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)
=(128438.347 / 318396.073) / (112958.222 / 278179.318)
=0.403392 / 0.406063
=0.9934

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 - (63968.797 + 159343.962) / 230599.457) / (1 - (70137.212 + 187744.386) / 267207.105)
=0.031599 / 0.0349
=0.9054

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
=278179.318 / 318396.073
=0.8737

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))
=(14385.71 / (14385.71 + 187744.386)) / (12620.238 / (12620.238 + 159343.962))
=0.071171 / 0.073389
=0.9698

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)
=(91399.794 / 278179.318) / (103659.833 / 318396.073)
=0.328564 / 0.325569
=1.0092

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)
=((111209.719 + 43177.187) / 230599.457) / ((123308.272 + 64259.792) / 267207.105)
=0.669502 / 0.701958
=0.9538

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
=(4947.751 - 2143.86 - 25256.156) / 230599.457
=-0.097365

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.

Kohl's has a M-score of -3.08 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 -2.98 mean?
Kohl's (MEX:KSS) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.98 as of Jun. 26, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Kohl's and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Kohl's ranks #254 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, placing it in the top 23.4%.
Is Kohl's' Beneish M-Score too high?
Kohl's' current Beneish M-Score is -2.98. Based on the distribution chart, Kohl's ranks #254 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, which is in the top quartile — a strong position relative to peers. Overall, Kohl's has a GF Score™ of 59/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Kohl's' Beneish M-Score compare to PLBL and M?
According to the Retail - Cyclical industry distribution chart, Kohl's ranks #254 out of 1087 companies for Beneish M-Score. This places Kohl's in the top 23% of its industry — outperforming the majority of peers. 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 Retail - Cyclical company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Retail - Cyclical 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 Kohl's and its competitors. Kohl's's current Beneish M-Score is -2.98. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Kohl's stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Kohl's (MEX:KSS) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is MXN299.51, compared to a current price of MXN326.50 — trading 9% above its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.98. Kohl's' overall GF Score™ is 59/100 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 Kohl's (MEX:KSS), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.98 as of Jun. 26, 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 Kohl's (MEX:KSS) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Kohl's stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of MXN326.50 is trading 9% above its estimated GF Value™ of MXN299.51. GuruFocus considers Kohl's to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for MEX:KSS:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.98
  • GF Value™: MXN299.51 vs. price of MXN326.50 (9% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 59/100 with 6 warning signs

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


Kohl's Business Description

Address N56 W17000 Ridgewood Drive, Menomonee Falls, WI, USA, 53051
Kohl's is the second-largest traditional US department store company by sales. It has about 1,150 stores in 49 states and offers moderately priced private-label (31% of 2025 sales) and national brand clothing, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, and home furnishings. Most (about 80%) of its stores are in strip centers. Kohl's also has a large digital sales operation (29% of 2025 sales). Women's apparel is the retailer's largest category, having generated 24% of its 2025 sales. Kohl's is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and was founded in 1962.
59GF Score

Get the complete analysis for MEX:KSS

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

MXN326.50
Price
MXN299.51
GF Value