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BF.B (Brown-Forman) Beneish M-Score : -2.23 (As of Jun. 27, 2025)


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What is Brown-Forman Beneish M-Score?

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 -2.23 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

BF.B' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -2.55   Med: -2.39   Max: -1.98
Current: -2.23

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Brown-Forman was -1.98. The lowest was -2.55. And the median was -2.39.


Brown-Forman Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Brown-Forman'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.

Brown-Forman Beneish M-Score Chart

Brown-Forman Annual Data
Trend Apr16 Apr17 Apr18 Apr19 Apr20 Apr21 Apr22 Apr23 Apr24 Apr25
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.20 -2.44 -2.14 -2.55 -2.23

Brown-Forman Quarterly Data
Jul20 Oct20 Jan21 Apr21 Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24 Apr24 Jul24 Oct24 Jan25 Apr25
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 -2.55 -2.49 -2.40 -2.42 -2.23

Competitive Comparison of Brown-Forman's Beneish M-Score

For the Beverages - Wineries & Distilleries subindustry, Brown-Forman'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.


Brown-Forman's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Beverages - Alcoholic Industry

For the Beverages - Alcoholic industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Brown-Forman's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


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Brown-Forman 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 Brown-Forman 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 * 1.1344+0.528 * 1.0257+0.404 * 0.924+0.892 * 0.9514+0.115 * 1.0181
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9541+4.679 * 0.030918-0.327 * 0.8994
=-2.23

* 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 (Apr25) TTM:Last Year (Apr24) TTM:
Total Receivables was $830 Mil.
Revenue was 894 + 1035 + 1095 + 951 = $3,975 Mil.
Gross Profit was 513 + 619 + 646 + 565 = $2,343 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $4,195 Mil.
Total Assets was $8,086 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $1,095 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $87 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $1,230 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $1,080 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $2,421 Mil.
Net Income was 146 + 270 + 258 + 195 = $869 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -27 + 47 + 1 + 0 = $21 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 152 + 317 + 112 + 17 = $598 Mil.
Total Receivables was $769 Mil.
Revenue was 964 + 1069 + 1107 + 1038 = $4,178 Mil.
Gross Profit was 569 + 635 + 671 + 651 = $2,526 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $4,036 Mil.
Total Assets was $8,166 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $1,074 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $87 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $1,355 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $1,559 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $2,372 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)
=(830 / 3975) / (769 / 4178)
=0.208805 / 0.184059
=1.1344

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)
=(2526 / 4178) / (2343 / 3975)
=0.604596 / 0.589434
=1.0257

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 - (4195 + 1095) / 8086) / (1 - (4036 + 1074) / 8166)
=0.345783 / 0.374235
=0.924

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
=3975 / 4178
=0.9514

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))
=(87 / (87 + 1074)) / (87 / (87 + 1095))
=0.074935 / 0.073604
=1.0181

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)
=(1230 / 3975) / (1355 / 4178)
=0.309434 / 0.324318
=0.9541

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)
=((2421 + 1080) / 8086) / ((2372 + 1559) / 8166)
=0.432971 / 0.481386
=0.8994

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
=(869 - 21 - 598) / 8086
=0.030918

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.

Brown-Forman has a M-score of -2.23 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


Brown-Forman Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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Brown-Forman Business Description

Address
850 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY, USA, 40210
Brown-Forman is a US-based manufacturer of premium distilled spirits that generates close to 70% of revenues in the whiskey category, under well-known Tennessee whiskey brand Jack Daniel's and bourbon brands Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. It also manufactures and distributes tequila, vodka, rum, gin, and premium wines. The company generates 45% of sales from its home market, while the bulk of international revenues come from Europe, Australia, and Latin America. The Brown family controls over 50% of the economic interests and a 67% voting power of the company.
Executives
Elizabeth M Brown director 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Elizabeth A Smith director 1345 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK NY 10105
Mark A. Clouse director C/O MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL, INC., THREE LAKES DRIVE, NORTHFIELD IL 60093
Jeremy J Shepherd officer: VP, Pres, USA & Canada 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Crystal L Peterson officer: SVP, Chief Inclusion Officer 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Jan Singer director 2 PARK AVENUE, 12TH FLOOR, NEW YORK NY 10016
Timothy M Nall officer: SVP CIO 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Leanne D Cunningham officer: SVP, Chief Fin Officer 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Matias Bentel officer: SVP, Chief Brands Officer 850 DIXIE HWY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Kelli Nelson officer: SVP, Chief Accounting Officer 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Mike J. Keyes officer: SVP, Chief Corporate Affairs 850 DIXIE HWY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Tracy L Skeans director 1441 GARDINER LANE, LOUISVILLE KY 40213
John V. Hayes officer: SVP, Chief Marketing Officer 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Michael Andrew Masick officer: VP DIR CORP STRATEGY 850 DIXIE HIGHWAY, LOUISVILLE KY 40210
Kathleen M. Gutmann director 55 GLENLAKE PARKWAY, NE, ATLANTA GA 30328