Best Buy Co (STU:BUY) Beneish M-Score: -2.68 (As of Jun. 26, 2026)


STU:BUY Best Buy Co Inc STU:BUY
71 GF Score
Price €67.70
GF Value €64.65
Valuation Fairly Valued
! 6 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Best Buy Co Beneish M-Score?

Best Buy Co STU:BUY -0.62% 71 Beneish M-Score is -2.68 as of Jun. 26, 2026. GuruFocus rates STU:BUY with a GF Score™ of 71/100 and a GF Value™ of €64.65 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 6 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,087 Retail - Cyclical companies, Best Buy Co ranks better than 58.23% on this metric.

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 -2.68 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

STU:BUY' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.68   Med: -2.74   Max: -2.24
Current: -2.68

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Best Buy Co was -2.24. The lowest was -3.68. And the median was -2.74.


Best Buy Co Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Best Buy Co'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.

Best Buy Co Beneish M-Score Chart

Best Buy Co Annual Data
Trend Jan17 Jan18 Jan19 Jan20 Jan21 Jan22 Jan23 Jan24 Jan25 Jan26
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.61 -2.42 -2.66 -2.72 -2.73

Best Buy Co Quarterly Data
Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24 Apr24 Jul24 Oct24 Jan25 Apr25 Jul25 Oct25 Jan26 Apr26
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 -2.79 -2.75 -2.76 -2.73 -2.68

STU:BUY vs TSCO, FIVE, DKS: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Specialty Retail subindustry, Best Buy Co'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.


Best Buy Co Beneish M-Score vs Retail - Cyclical Industry

For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Best Buy Co's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


STU:BUY
71GF Score
Best Buy Co Inc STU:BUY
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Best Buy Co 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 Best Buy Co 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 * 1.2587+0.528 * 1.0023+0.404 * 0.7513+0.892 * 0.9294+0.115 * 1.0695
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9941+4.679 * -0.065724-0.327 * 0.9887
=-2.70

* 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 (Apr26) TTM:Last Year (Apr25) TTM:
Total Receivables was €775 Mil.
Revenue was 7640.28 + 11755.714 + 8308.248 + 8088.366 = €35,793 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1797.21 + 2452.582 + 1931.032 + 1880.258 = €8,061 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €7,473 Mil.
Total Assets was €12,731 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €4,153 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €696 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €6,537 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €6,666 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €2,993 Mil.
Net Income was 235.98 + 460.391 + 120.26 + 159.402 = €976 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 23.94 + 35.742 + -126.273 + -85.7 = €-152 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 320.625 + 1087.578 + -85.041 + 641.893 = €1,965 Mil.
Total Receivables was €662 Mil.
Revenue was 7802.63 + 13473.768 + 8670.51 + 8563.536 = €38,510 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1823.61 + 2818.788 + 2035.206 + 2015.492 = €8,693 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €6,751 Mil.
Total Assets was €12,574 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €4,370 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €793 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €7,075 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €6,597 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €3,053 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)
=(774.63 / 35792.608) / (662.16 / 38510.444)
=0.021642 / 0.017194
=1.2587

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)
=(8693.096 / 38510.444) / (8061.082 / 35792.608)
=0.225733 / 0.225216
=1.0023

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 - (7472.7 + 4152.735) / 12730.95) / (1 - (6750.65 + 4369.9) / 12573.92)
=0.086837 / 0.115586
=0.7513

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
=35792.608 / 38510.444
=0.9294

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))
=(792.976 / (792.976 + 4369.9)) / (696.404 / (696.404 + 4152.735))
=0.153592 / 0.143614
=1.0695

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)
=(6537.203 / 35792.608) / (7075.166 / 38510.444)
=0.182641 / 0.183721
=0.9941

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)
=((2993.355 + 6666.435) / 12730.95) / ((3052.7 + 6596.68) / 12573.92)
=0.758764 / 0.767412
=0.9887

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
=(976.033 - -152.291 - 1965.055) / 12730.95
=-0.065724

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.

Best Buy Co has a M-score of -2.70 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 -2.68 mean?
Best Buy Co (STU:BUY) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.68 as of Jun. 26, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Best Buy Co and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Best Buy Co ranks #454 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, placing it in the top 41.8%.
Is Best Buy Co's Beneish M-Score too high?
Best Buy Co's current Beneish M-Score is -2.68. Based on the distribution chart, Best Buy Co ranks #454 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, Best Buy Co has a GF Score™ of 71/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Best Buy Co's Beneish M-Score compare to TSCO and FIVE?
According to the Retail - Cyclical industry distribution chart, Best Buy Co ranks #454 out of 1087 companies for Beneish M-Score. This puts Best Buy Co in the upper half of its 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 Retail - Cyclical company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Retail - Cyclical 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 Best Buy Co and its competitors. Best Buy Co's current Beneish M-Score is -2.68. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Best Buy Co stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Best Buy Co (STU:BUY) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is €64.65, compared to a current price of €67.70 — trading 4.7% above its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.68. Best Buy Co's overall GF Score™ is 71/100 with 6 warning signs to review. 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 Best Buy Co (STU:BUY), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.68 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.

Is Best Buy Co (STU:BUY) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Best Buy Co stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of €67.70 is trading 4.7% above its estimated GF Value™ of €64.65. GuruFocus considers Best Buy Co to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for STU:BUY:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.68
  • GF Value™: €64.65 vs. price of €67.70 (4.7% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 71/100 with 6 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the STU:BUY stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Best Buy Co Business Description

Address 7601 Penn Avenue South, Richfield, MN, USA, 55423
Best Buy Co Inc is a pure-play consumer electronics retailer in the USA. It has two reportable segments: Domestic and International. The Domestic and International segments have offerings in six revenue categories. Computing and Mobile Phones, Consumer Electronics, Appliances, Entertainment, Services, and Other. The company has approximately 1,068 stores throughout its Domestic and International segments. It also have vendor store-within-a-store concepts to allow closer vendor partnerships and a higher quality customer experience. The company generates majority of its revenue from the Domestic segment.
71GF Score

Get the complete analysis for STU:BUY

Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

€67.70
Price
€64.65
GF Value