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WM (Waste Management) Beneish M-Score : -2.41 (As of Jul. 04, 2025)


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What is Waste Management 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 -2.41 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

WM' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -2.89   Med: -2.78   Max: -2.41
Current: -2.41

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Waste Management was -2.41. The lowest was -2.89. And the median was -2.78.


Waste Management Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Waste Management'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.

Waste Management Beneish M-Score Chart

Waste Management Annual Data
Trend Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.52 -2.84 -2.74 -2.76 -2.45

Waste Management Quarterly Data
Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25
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 -2.80 -2.80 -2.76 -2.45 -2.41

Competitive Comparison of Waste Management's Beneish M-Score

For the Waste Management subindustry, Waste Management'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.


Waste Management's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Waste Management Industry

For the Waste Management industry and Industrials sector, Waste Management's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


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Waste Management 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 Waste Management 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 * 1.2064+0.528 * 0.9852+0.404 * 1.2434+0.892 * 1.1077+0.115 * 0.9916
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.15+4.679 * -0.055523-0.327 * 1.0517
=-2.41

* 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 (Mar25) TTM:Last Year (Mar24) TTM:
Total Receivables was $3,588 Mil.
Revenue was 6018 + 5893 + 5609 + 5402 = $22,922 Mil.
Gross Profit was 2371 + 2340 + 2210 + 2111 = $9,032 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $4,455 Mil.
Total Assets was $44,486 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $19,553 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $2,409 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $2,400 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $5,347 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $22,883 Mil.
Net Income was 637 + 598 + 760 + 680 = $2,675 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -8 + -40 + -1 + -37 = $-86 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 1208 + 1511 + 1358 + 1154 = $5,231 Mil.
Total Receivables was $2,685 Mil.
Revenue was 5159 + 5217 + 5198 + 5119 = $20,693 Mil.
Gross Profit was 2019 + 2071 + 2010 + 1933 = $8,033 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $3,529 Mil.
Total Assets was $32,666 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $17,044 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $2,080 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $1,884 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $3,949 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $15,762 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)
=(3588 / 22922) / (2685 / 20693)
=0.156531 / 0.129754
=1.2064

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)
=(8033 / 20693) / (9032 / 22922)
=0.388199 / 0.394032
=0.9852

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 - (4455 + 19553) / 44486) / (1 - (3529 + 17044) / 32666)
=0.460325 / 0.370201
=1.2434

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
=22922 / 20693
=1.1077

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))
=(2080 / (2080 + 17044)) / (2409 / (2409 + 19553))
=0.108764 / 0.109689
=0.9916

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)
=(2400 / 22922) / (1884 / 20693)
=0.104703 / 0.091045
=1.15

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)
=((22883 + 5347) / 44486) / ((15762 + 3949) / 32666)
=0.634582 / 0.60341
=1.0517

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
=(2675 - -86 - 5231) / 44486
=-0.055523

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.

Waste Management has a M-score of -2.41 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


Waste Management Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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Waste Management Business Description

Address
800 Capitol Street, Suite 3000, Houston, TX, USA, 77002
WM ranks as the largest integrated provider of traditional solid waste services in the United States, operating 263 active landfills and about 332 transfer stations. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and medical end markets and is also a leading recycler in North America.
Executives
Rafael Carrasco officer: SVP Operations 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Devina A Rankin officer: VP & Treasurer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
John J Morris officer: Chief Strategy Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
John A. Carroll officer: VP & Chief Accounting Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Michael J. Watson officer: Sr. VP-Chief Customer Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Tara J. Hmmer officer: SVP Operat Safety Envir Compl 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON X1 77002
Christopher P. Desantis officer: SVP Operations - East 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Donald J Smith officer: Sr. VP - Operations 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Fish James C Jr officer: SVP, Eastern Group 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Charles C Boettcher officer: Sr VP Chief Legal Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Maryrose Sylvester director C/O 3700 WEST JUNEAU AVENUE, MILWAUKEE WI 53208
Kelly C. Rooney officer: SVP Chief People Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET #3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
John C Pope director 810 S. RIDGE RD, LAKE FOREST IL 60045
Bruce E. Chinn director 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Leslie K Nagy officer: VP & Chief Accounting Officer 5 GREENWAY PLAZA, SUITE 100, HOUSTON TX 77046