NKLAQ (Nikola) Beneish M-Score: 0.00 (As of Jun. 26, 2026)


What is Nikola Beneish M-Score?

Nikola NKLAQ -30.00% Beneish M-Score is 0.00 as of Jun. 26, 2026.

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.

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

During the past 7 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Nikola was 0.00. The lowest was 0.00. And the median was 0.00.

Nikola Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Nikola'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.

Nikola Beneish M-Score Chart

Nikola Annual Data
Trend Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4.61 -1.92

Nikola Quarterly Data
Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24
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 -4.61 -4.76 -3.79 -0.02 -1.92

NKLAQ vs NMHI, GP, CAT: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery subindustry, Nikola'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.

Nikola Beneish M-Score vs Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery Industry

For the Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery industry and Industrials sector, Nikola's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


Nikola 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 Nikola 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 * 1.1989+0.528 * 1.785+0.404 * 1.077+0.892 * 1.9214+0.115 * 0.4004
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.5007+4.679 * -0.138751-0.327 * 1.7873
=-1.92

* 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 (Dec24) TTM:Last Year (Dec23) TTM:
Total Receivables was $62.66 Mil.
Revenue was 4.865 + 25.181 + 31.319 + 7.497 = $68.86 Mil.
Gross Profit was -56.182 + -61.943 + -54.726 + -57.575 = $-230.43 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $265.06 Mil.
Total Assets was $596.18 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $230.88 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $46.02 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $191.21 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $245.40 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $201.06 Mil.
Net Income was -477.052 + -199.781 + -133.674 + -147.722 = $-958.23 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -312.738 + -43.707 + 2.364 + 0.076 = $-354.01 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was -121.971 + -149.377 + -134.553 + -115.603 = $-521.50 Mil.
 Total Receivables was $27.20 Mil.
Revenue was 11.532 + -1.732 + 15.362 + 10.677 = $35.84 Mil.
Gross Profit was -38.236 + -125.503 + -27.631 + -22.697 = $-214.07 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $572.41 Mil.
Total Assets was $1,274.86 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $503.42 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $35.89 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $198.77 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $260.11 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $274.04 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)
=(62.656 / 68.862) / (27.199 / 35.839)
=0.909878 / 0.758922
=1.1989

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)
=(-214.067 / 35.839) / (-230.426 / 68.862)
=-5.973018 / -3.3462
=1.785

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 - (265.058 + 230.876) / 596.177) / (1 - (572.412 + 503.416) / 1274.857)
=0.168143 / 0.156119
=1.077

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
=68.862 / 35.839
=1.9214

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))
=(35.89 / (35.89 + 503.416)) / (46.018 / (46.018 + 230.876))
=0.066548 / 0.166194
=0.4004

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)
=(191.212 / 68.862) / (198.768 / 35.839)
=2.776742 / 5.546137
=0.5007

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)
=((201.056 + 245.398) / 596.177) / ((274.044 + 260.105) / 1274.857)
=0.748861 / 0.418987
=1.7873

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
=(-958.229 - -354.005 - -521.504) / 596.177
=-0.138751

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.

Nikola has a M-score of -1.92 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 0.00 mean?
Nikola (NKLAQ) has a Beneish M-Score of 0.00 as of Jun. 26, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Nikola and its competitors.
Is Nikola's Beneish M-Score too high?
Nikola's current Beneish M-Score is 0.00.
How does Nikola's Beneish M-Score compare to NMHI and GP?
Nikola's Beneish M-Score of 0.00 can be compared against companies in the Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery 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 Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery 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 Nikola and its competitors. Nikola's current Beneish M-Score is 0.00. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Nikola stock overvalued right now?
Nikola (NKLAQ) has a current Beneish M-Score of 0.00. The current Beneish M-Score is 0.00. 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 Nikola (NKLAQ), the current Beneish M-Score is 0.00 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.

Nikola Business Description

Address P.O. Box 27028, Tempe, AZ, USA, 85285
Nikola Corp is a technology innovator and integrator, working to develop inventive energy and transportation solutions. It works on a business model that enables customers and fleets to integrate next-generation truck technology, hydrogen fueling and charging infrastructure, and related maintenance. It operates in two business units: Truck and Energy. The Truck business unit is engaged in manufacturing and selling FCEV and BEV trucks that provide environmentally friendly, cost-effective solutions to the trucking sector. The Energy business unit is engaged in developing and constructing a network of hydrogen fueling stations to meet the hydrogen fuel demand for the company's customers, as well as other third-party customers.