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VeriSign (VeriSign) Beneish M-Score

: -1.94 (As of Today)
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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 -1.94 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

VRSN' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.71   Med: -2.69   Max: -1.83
Current: -1.94

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of VeriSign was -1.83. The lowest was -3.71. And the median was -2.69.


VeriSign Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for VeriSign'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.

* Premium members only.

VeriSign Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Beneish M-Score
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.31 -2.78 -1.83 -3.22 -1.94

VeriSign Quarterly Data
Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23
Beneish M-Score 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 Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -3.22 -3.84 -3.26 -3.42 -1.94

Competitive Comparison

For the Software - Infrastructure subindustry, VeriSign'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.


VeriSign Beneish M-Score Distribution

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

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



VeriSign 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 VeriSign 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 * 1.6023+0.528 * 0.99+0.404 * 1.1316+0.892 * 1.0479+0.115 * 1.0583
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9973+4.679 * -0.023613-0.327 * 1.0165
=-1.94

* 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 (Dec23) TTM:Last Year (Dec22) TTM:
Total Receivables was $14 Mil.
Revenue was 380.4 + 376.3 + 372 + 364.4 = $1,493 Mil.
Gross Profit was 331.9 + 327.7 + 321.7 + 314.5 = $1,296 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $988 Mil.
Total Assets was $1,749 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $241 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $44 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $204 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $1,189 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $1,792 Mil.
Net Income was 264.7 + 188.5 + 185.7 + 178.7 = $818 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 1.8 + 1.5 + 1.2 + 0.6 = $5 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 204.2 + 245.3 + 145.3 + 259 = $854 Mil.
Total Receivables was $8 Mil.
Revenue was 369.2 + 356.9 + 351.9 + 346.9 = $1,425 Mil.
Gross Profit was 318.7 + 306.9 + 302.4 + 296.2 = $1,224 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $1,039 Mil.
Total Assets was $1,733 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $239 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $47 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $195 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $1,117 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $1,790 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)
=(13.6 / 1493.1) / (8.1 / 1424.9)
=0.009109 / 0.005685
=1.6023

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)
=(1224.2 / 1424.9) / (1295.8 / 1493.1)
=0.859148 / 0.867859
=0.99

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 - (988.3 + 240.6) / 1749) / (1 - (1038.7 + 239.2) / 1733.4)
=0.29737 / 0.262778
=1.1316

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
=1493.1 / 1424.9
=1.0479

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))
=(46.9 / (46.9 + 239.2)) / (44.1 / (44.1 + 240.6))
=0.163929 / 0.1549
=1.0583

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)
=(204.2 / 1493.1) / (195.4 / 1424.9)
=0.136762 / 0.137132
=0.9973

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)
=((1792.4 + 1188.5) / 1749) / ((1789.5 + 1116.9) / 1733.4)
=1.704345 / 1.676705
=1.0165

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
=(817.6 - 5.1 - 853.8) / 1749
=-0.023613

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.

VeriSign has a M-score of -1.94 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


VeriSign Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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VeriSign (VeriSign) Business Description

Address
12061 Bluemont Way, Reston, VA, USA, 20190
Verisign is the sole authorized registry for several generic top-level domains, including the widely utilized .com and .net top-level domains. The company operates critical internet infrastructure to support the domain name system, including operating two of the world's 13 root servers that are used to route internet traffic. In 2018, the firm sold off its Security Services business, signalling a renewed focus on the core registry business.
Executives
D James Bidzos director 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, ATTN: GENERAL COUNSEL, RESTON VA 20190
Danny R Mcpherson officer: EVP- Engineering, Ops. & CSO 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, RESTON VA 20190
Thomas C Indelicarto officer: SVP, Gen Counsel & Secretary 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, ATTN: GENERAL COUNSEL, RESTON VA 20190
Timothy Tomlinson director 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, ATTN: GENERAL COUNSEL, RESTON VA 20190
Todd B Strubbe officer: EVP and COO VERISIGN, 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, RESTON VA 20190
Kathleen A Cote director 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, RESTON VA 20190
Yehuda Ari Buchalter director 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, RESTON VA 20190
Kilguss George E Iii officer: EVP and CFO C/O VERISIGN, INC., 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, RESTON VA 20190
Frist Thomas F Iii director 3100 WEST END AVENUE SUITE 1225, NASHVILLE TN 37203
Armstrong Courtney D director 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, RESTON VA 20190
Berkshire Hathaway Inc 10 percent owner 3555 FARNAM STREET, OMAHA NE 68131
Jamie S Gorelick director 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, RESTON VA 20190
Richard H Goshorn officer: SVP, GC and Secretary 12061 BLUEMONT WAY, ATTN: GENERAL COUNSEL, RESTON VA 20190
John D Roach director PMI GROUP INC, 601 MONTGOMERY ST, SAN FRANCISCO CA 94111
Warren E Buffett 10 percent owner 3555 FARNAM ST, STE 1440, OMAHA NE 68131

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