GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Communication Services » Media - Diversified » QuinStreet Inc (NAS:QNST) » Definitions » Beneish M-Score

QNST (QuinStreet) Beneish M-Score : -2.64 (As of Mar. 20, 2025)


View and export this data going back to 2010. Start your Free Trial

What is QuinStreet 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 -2.64 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

QNST' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.85   Med: -2.76   Max: -1.57
Current: -2.64

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of QuinStreet was -1.57. The lowest was -3.85. And the median was -2.76.


QuinStreet Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for QuinStreet'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.

QuinStreet Beneish M-Score Chart

QuinStreet Annual Data
Trend Jun15 Jun16 Jun17 Jun18 Jun19 Jun20 Jun21 Jun22 Jun23 Jun24
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.98 -2.68 -2.76 -3.74 -2.52

QuinStreet 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 -3.65 -3.85 -2.52 -1.92 -2.64

Competitive Comparison of QuinStreet's Beneish M-Score

For the Advertising Agencies subindustry, QuinStreet'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.


QuinStreet's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Media - Diversified Industry

For the Media - Diversified industry and Communication Services sector, QuinStreet's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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



QuinStreet 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 QuinStreet 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 * 1.1907+0.528 * 0.8194+0.404 * 0.8018+0.892 * 1.6899+0.115 * 0.7996
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9351+4.679 * -0.13538-0.327 * 1.3842
=-2.64

* 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 $150.4 Mil.
Revenue was 282.596 + 279.219 + 198.321 + 168.587 = $928.7 Mil.
Gross Profit was 26.754 + 28.405 + 17.433 + 14.311 = $86.9 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $219.3 Mil.
Total Assets was $409.6 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $26.3 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $25.6 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $63.8 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $159.7 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $6.6 Mil.
Net Income was -1.549 + -1.366 + -2.164 + -7.048 = $-12.1 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -0.083 + -0.098 + -0.098 + -2.028 = $-2.3 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 38.678 + -13.706 + 16.556 + 4.11 = $45.6 Mil.
Total Receivables was $74.7 Mil.
Revenue was 122.683 + 123.923 + 130.312 + 172.671 = $549.6 Mil.
Gross Profit was 6.853 + 7.649 + 10.599 + 17.038 = $42.1 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $128.1 Mil.
Total Assets was $320.9 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $32.5 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $21.2 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $40.4 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $85.0 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $9.1 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)
=(150.36 / 928.723) / (74.727 / 549.589)
=0.1619 / 0.135969
=1.1907

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)
=(42.139 / 549.589) / (86.903 / 928.723)
=0.076674 / 0.093573
=0.8194

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 - (219.269 + 26.286) / 409.647) / (1 - (128.079 + 32.513) / 320.917)
=0.400569 / 0.499584
=0.8018

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
=928.723 / 549.589
=1.6899

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))
=(21.174 / (21.174 + 32.513)) / (25.585 / (25.585 + 26.286))
=0.394397 / 0.493243
=0.7996

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)
=(63.802 / 928.723) / (40.378 / 549.589)
=0.068699 / 0.073469
=0.9351

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)
=((6.554 + 159.691) / 409.647) / ((9.056 + 85.035) / 320.917)
=0.405825 / 0.293194
=1.3842

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
=(-12.127 - -2.307 - 45.638) / 409.647
=-0.13538

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.

QuinStreet has a M-score of -2.64 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


QuinStreet Beneish M-Score Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of QuinStreet's Beneish M-Score provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


QuinStreet Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
950 Tower Lane, 12th Floor, Foster City, CA, USA, 94404
QuinStreet Inc focuses on marketplaces and technologies for the financial services and home services industries. It delivers measurable and cost-effective marketing results to its clients, in the form of qualified inquiries such as clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers. It generates revenue by delivering measurable online marketing results to the clients. Its products and services are Customer Acquisition, QuinStreet Rating Platform (QRP), and CloudControlMedia.
Executives
Gregory Wong officer: CFO 950 TOWER LANE, 6TH FLOOR, FOSTER CITY CA 94404
Douglas Valenti director, 10 percent owner, officer: Chief Executive Officer C/O QUINSTREET, INC., 1051 EAST HILLSDALE BLVD., FOSTER CITY CA 94404
Stuart Huizinga director 440 EAST MIDDLEFIELD ROAD, MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 94043
Andrew T Sheehan director 755 PAGE MILL ROAD, SUITE A-200, PALO ALTO CA 94304-1005
Matthew Glickman director 159 MELVILLE AVENUE, PALO ALTO CA 94301
David J Pauldine director 300 SIXTH AVE, 8TH FLOOR, PITTSBURGH PA 75222
Hillary B Smith director C/O YEXT, INC, 61 NINTH AVENUE, NEW YORK NY 10011
Asmau Ahmed director 315 RIVERSIDE DRIVE 1B, NEW YORK NY 10025
James R. Simons director C/O SPLIT ROCK PARTNERS, 10400 VIKING DRIVE, SUITE 250, EDEN PRAIRIE MN 55344
Robin Josephs director
Anna Liao Fieler director 2036 STERLING AVE, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Gregory P Sands director 755 PAGE MILL ROAD, SUITE A-200, PALO ALTO CA 94304-1005
John G Mcdonald director 601 UNION STREET, SUITE 3100, SEATTLE WA 98101-1374
Nina Bhanap officer: Chief Technology Officer C/O QUINSTREET, INC., 1051 EAST HILLSDALE BLVD., FOSTER CITY CA 94404
Martin J Collins officer: SVP & General Counsel 4000 NORTH FIRST STREET, SAN JOSE CA 95134