Lowe's (MIL:1LOW) Beneish M-Score: -0.34 (As of Jun. 26, 2026)


MIL:1LOW Lowe's Companies Inc MIL:1LOW
57 GF Score
Price €188.30
GF Value €217.12
Valuation Modestly Undervalued
! 2 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Lowe's Beneish M-Score?

Lowe's MIL:1LOW 57 Beneish M-Score is -0.34 as of Jun. 26, 2026. GuruFocus rates MIL:1LOW with a GF Score™ of 57/100 and a GF Value™ of €217.12 (Modestly Undervalued). The stock has 2 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,087 Retail - Cyclical companies, Lowe's ranks worse than 92.36% 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.

Warning Sign:

Beneish M-Score -0.34 higher than -1.78, which implies that the company might have manipulated its financial results.

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

MIL:1LOW' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.15   Med: -2.67   Max: 8.82
Current: -0.34

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Lowe's was 8.82. The lowest was -3.15. And the median was -2.67.


Lowe's Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Lowe'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.

Lowe's Beneish M-Score Chart

Lowe'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 -2.63 -2.86 -2.53 -2.81 8.82

Lowe'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 -2.70 -2.45 -0.53 8.82 -0.34

MIL:1LOW vs FND, HVT, TTSH: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Home Improvement Retail subindustry, Lowe'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.


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

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

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


MIL:1LOW
57GF Score
Lowe's Companies Inc MIL:1LOW
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Lowe'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 Lowe'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 * 1.002+0.404 * 6.7681+0.892 * 0.985+0.115 * 0.9352
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.027+4.679 * -0.058068-0.327 * 0.8895
=-0.41

* 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 €984 Mil.
Revenue was 19731.69 + 17517.835 + 17878.367 + 20532.863 = €75,661 Mil.
Gross Profit was 6449.265 + 5685.531 + 6112.644 + 6942.557 = €25,190 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €18,949 Mil.
Total Assets was €46,975 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €19,183 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €1,994 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €14,686 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €17,334 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €34,788 Mil.
Net Income was 1391.94 + 851 + 1388.144 + 2055.086 = €5,686 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = €0 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 2864.25 + 1333.517 + 590.133 + 3625.967 = €8,414 Mil.
Total Receivables was €0 Mil.
Revenue was 18627.7 + 17923.164 + 18516.06 + 21746.292 = €76,813 Mil.
Gross Profit was 6217.54 + 5889.702 + 6238.728 + 7279.19 = €25,625 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €20,181 Mil.
Total Assets was €40,381 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €19,077 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €1,842 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €14,517 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €19,925 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €30,447 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)
=(984.105 / 75660.755) / (0 / 76813.216)
=0.013007 / 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)
=(25625.16 / 76813.216) / (25189.997 / 75660.755)
=0.333604 / 0.332933
=1.002

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 - (18948.51 + 19182.78) / 46974.555) / (1 - (20180.75 + 19077.15) / 40381.08)
=0.188256 / 0.027815
=6.7681

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
=75660.755 / 76813.216
=0.985

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))
=(1841.83 / (1841.83 + 19077.15)) / (1993.627 / (1993.627 + 19182.78))
=0.088046 / 0.094144
=0.9352

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)
=(14685.99 / 75660.755) / (14517.228 / 76813.216)
=0.194103 / 0.188994
=1.027

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)
=((34788.24 + 17334.27) / 46974.555) / ((30446.9 + 19925.32) / 40381.08)
=1.10959 / 1.247421
=0.8895

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
=(5686.17 - 0 - 8413.867) / 46974.555
=-0.058068

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.

Lowe's has a M-score of -0.41 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Beneish M-Score →
What does a Beneish M-Score of -0.34 mean?
Lowe's (MIL:1LOW) has a Beneish M-Score of -0.34 as of Jun. 26, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Lowe's and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Lowe's ranks #1004 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, placing it in the top 92.4%.
Is Lowe's' Beneish M-Score too high?
Lowe's' current Beneish M-Score is -0.34. Based on the distribution chart, Lowe's ranks #1004 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Lowe's has a GF Score™ of 57/100 and is considered Modestly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Lowe's' Beneish M-Score compare to FND and HVT?
According to the Retail - Cyclical industry distribution chart, Lowe's ranks #1004 out of 1087 companies for Beneish M-Score. This places Lowe's 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 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 Lowe's and its competitors. Lowe's's current Beneish M-Score is -0.34. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Lowe's stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Lowe's (MIL:1LOW) is currently considered Modestly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is €217.12, compared to a current price of €188.30 — trading 13.3% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -0.34. Lowe's' overall GF Score™ is 57/100 with 2 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 Lowe's (MIL:1LOW), the current Beneish M-Score is -0.34 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 Lowe's (MIL:1LOW) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Lowe's stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of €188.30 is trading 13.3% below its estimated GF Value™ of €217.12. GuruFocus considers Lowe's to be Modestly Undervalued.

Key valuation signals for MIL:1LOW:

  • Beneish M-Score: -0.34
  • GF Value™: €217.12 vs. price of €188.30 (13.3% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 57/100 with 2 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the MIL:1LOW stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Lowe's Business Description

Address 1000 Lowes Boulevard, Mooresville, NC, USA, 28117
Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer globally, with 1,759 stores in the US, after the 2023 divestiture of its Canadian locations. The firm's stores offer products and services for home decorating, maintenance, repair, and remodeling, with maintenance and repair accounting for two-thirds of products sold. Lowe's primarily targets retail do-it-yourself (around 70% of sales) and do-it-for-me customers, but has expanded its professional business clients to 30% from less than 20% in the past seven years (set to expand further with the acquisition of FBM). We estimate Lowe's captures a high-single-digit share of the domestic home improvement market, based on US Census data and management's market size estimates.
57GF Score

Get the complete analysis for MIL:1LOW

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

€188.30
Price
€217.12
GF Value