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Palo Alto Networks (Palo Alto Networks) Beneish M-Score : -1.87 (As of Apr. 25, 2024)


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What is Palo Alto Networks 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 -1.87 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

PANW' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.97   Med: -3.09   Max: -1.42
Current: -1.87

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Palo Alto Networks was -1.42. The lowest was -3.97. And the median was -3.09.


Palo Alto Networks Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Palo Alto Networks'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.

Palo Alto Networks Beneish M-Score Chart

Palo Alto Networks Annual Data
Trend Jul14 Jul15 Jul16 Jul17 Jul18 Jul19 Jul20 Jul21 Jul22 Jul23
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.83 -2.58 -3.09 -2.74 -2.83

Palo Alto Networks Quarterly Data
Apr19 Jul19 Oct19 Jan20 Apr20 Jul20 Oct20 Jan21 Apr21 Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24
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 -3.09 -3.10 -2.83 -2.76 -1.87

Competitive Comparison of Palo Alto Networks's Beneish M-Score

For the Software - Infrastructure subindustry, Palo Alto Networks'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.


Palo Alto Networks's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Software Industry

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

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



Palo Alto Networks 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 Palo Alto Networks 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 * 1.4984+0.528 * 0.9422+0.404 * 1.1191+0.892 * 1.2228+0.115 * 1.1569
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9681+4.679 * -0.042341-0.327 * 0.6685
=-1.87

* 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 (Jan24) TTM:Last Year (Jan23) TTM:
Total Receivables was $2,342 Mil.
Revenue was 1975.1 + 1878.1 + 1953.3 + 1720.9 = $7,527 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1476 + 1405.3 + 1446.5 + 1246.1 = $5,574 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $6,447 Mil.
Total Assets was $18,292 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $708 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $275 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $3,287 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $7,766 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $363 Mil.
Net Income was 1746.9 + 194.2 + 227.7 + 107.8 = $2,277 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -0.6 + -0.9 + -3.8 + -5.8 = $-11 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 690 + 1526 + 414.1 + 432.1 = $3,062 Mil.
Total Receivables was $1,278 Mil.
Revenue was 1655.1 + 1563.4 + 1550.5 + 1386.7 = $6,156 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1188.9 + 1101.5 + 1058.2 + 946.2 = $4,295 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $5,406 Mil.
Total Assets was $13,163 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $596 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $285 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $2,777 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $8,475 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $274 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)
=(2341.8 / 7527.4) / (1278.1 / 6155.7)
=0.311103 / 0.207629
=1.4984

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)
=(4294.8 / 6155.7) / (5573.9 / 7527.4)
=0.697695 / 0.740481
=0.9422

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 - (6446.7 + 708.1) / 18292) / (1 - (5405.8 + 595.8) / 13163.4)
=0.608856 / 0.544069
=1.1191

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
=7527.4 / 6155.7
=1.2228

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))
=(284.5 / (284.5 + 595.8)) / (274.5 / (274.5 + 708.1))
=0.323185 / 0.279361
=1.1569

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)
=(3287.4 / 7527.4) / (2776.8 / 6155.7)
=0.436724 / 0.451094
=0.9681

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)
=((362.7 + 7765.5) / 18292) / ((274.2 + 8475.1) / 13163.4)
=0.444358 / 0.664669
=0.6685

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
=(2276.6 - -11.1 - 3062.2) / 18292
=-0.042341

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.

Palo Alto Networks has a M-score of -1.87 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


Palo Alto Networks Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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Palo Alto Networks (Palo Alto Networks) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
3000 Tannery Way, Santa Clara, CA, USA, 95054
Palo Alto Networks is a platform-based cybersecurity vendor with product offerings covering network security, cloud security, and security operations. The California-based firm has more than 85,000 customers across the world, including more than three fourths of the Global 2000.
Executives
John Donovan director 208 S. AKARD ST. , ROOM 3025, DALLAS TX 75202
Nir Zuk director, officer: CTO 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
John P. Key director 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Dipak Golechha officer: EVP, Chief Financial Officer 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Nikesh Arora director, officer: Chief Executive Officer 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Lee Klarich officer: Chief Product Officer 4401 GREAT AMERICA PKWY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Josh D. Paul officer: Chief Accounting Officer 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Jenkins William D Jr officer: President C/O PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC, 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Aparna Bawa director C/O ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS, INC., 55 ALMADEN BOULEVARD, 6TH FLOOR, SAN JOSE CA 95113
Carl M. Eschenbach director C/O SEQUOIA CAPITAL, 2800 SAND HILL ROAD, SUITE 101, PALO ALTO CA 94025
James J Goetz director C/O SEQUOIA CAPITAL, 2800 SAND HILL RD, SUITE 101, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Mark D Mclaughlin director, officer: President & CEO C/O PALO ALTO NETWORKS, INC., 4401 GREAT AMERICA PKWY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Amit K. Singh officer: President 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054
Helene D Gayle director C/O COLGATE PALMOLIVE COMPANY, 300 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK NY 10022
Jean Compeau officer: Chief Accounting Officer 3000 TANNERY WAY, SANTA CLARA CA 95054