AutoNation (STU:RWI) Beneish M-Score: -2.34 (As of Aug. 08, 2026)

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STU:RWI AutoNation Inc STU:RWI
79 GF Score
Price €180.70
GF Value €187.92
Valuation Fairly Valued
! 6 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is AutoNation Beneish M-Score?

AutoNation STU:RWI -1.53% 79 Beneish M-Score is -2.34 as of Aug. 08, 2026. GuruFocus rates STU:RWI with a GF Score™ of 79/100 and a GF Value™ of €187.92 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 6 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,273 Vehicles & Parts companies, AutoNation ranks worse than 67.09% 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 -2.34 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

STU:RWI' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.01   Med: -2.49   Max: -2.01
Current: -2.34

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of AutoNation was -2.01. The lowest was -3.01. And the median was -2.49.


AutoNation Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for AutoNation'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.

AutoNation Beneish M-Score Chart

AutoNation Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.66 -2.46 -2.20 -2.26 -2.30

AutoNation Quarterly Data
Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26 Jun26
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 -2.06 -2.21 -2.30 -2.43 -2.34

STU:RWI vs LAD, ALTB, RUSHA: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Auto & Truck Dealerships subindustry, AutoNation'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.


AutoNation Beneish M-Score vs Vehicles & Parts Industry

For the Vehicles & Parts industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, AutoNation's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


STU:RWI
79GF Score
AutoNation Inc STU:RWI
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

AutoNation 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 AutoNation 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 * 1.0217+0.528 * 1.0036+0.404 * 1.1469+0.892 * 0.9417+0.115 * 1.097
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.0203+4.679 * 0.027005-0.327 * 1.0438
=-2.33

* 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 (Jun26) TTM:Last Year (Jun25) TTM:
Total Receivables was €724 Mil.
Revenue was 6015.066 + 5667.566 + 5917.537 + 5995.865 = €23,596 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1068.595 + 1047.601 + 1037.439 + 1055.117 = €4,209 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €4,207 Mil.
Total Assets was €13,440 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €3,894 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €217 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €2,910 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €5,379 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €5,624 Mil.
Net Income was 158.063 + 177.671 + 146.973 + 183.265 = €666 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 15.971 + 44.288 + -13.237 + 6.646 = €54 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was -61.715 + 19.203 + 128.527 + 163.328 = €249 Mil.
Total Receivables was €753 Mil.
Revenue was 6046.805 + 6188.62 + 6888.606 + 5934.076 = €25,058 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1105.772 + 1128.407 + 1185.728 + 1065.703 = €4,486 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €4,007 Mil.
Total Assets was €11,766 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €3,684 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €226 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €3,028 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €4,936 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €4,293 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)
=(724.172 / 23596.034) / (752.729 / 25058.107)
=0.03069 / 0.030039
=1.0217

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)
=(4485.61 / 25058.107) / (4208.752 / 23596.034)
=0.179008 / 0.178367
=1.0036

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 - (4206.675 + 3894.108) / 13440.286) / (1 - (4006.754 + 3683.71) / 11766.057)
=0.397276 / 0.346386
=1.1469

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
=23596.034 / 25058.107
=0.9417

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))
=(226.243 / (226.243 + 3683.71)) / (216.832 / (216.832 + 3894.108))
=0.057863 / 0.052745
=1.097

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)
=(2909.573 / 23596.034) / (3028.447 / 25058.107)
=0.123308 / 0.120857
=1.0203

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)
=((5623.946 + 5379.343) / 13440.286) / ((4292.604 + 4936.091) / 11766.057)
=0.81868 / 0.784349
=1.0438

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
=(665.972 - 53.668 - 249.343) / 13440.286
=0.027005

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.

AutoNation has a M-score of -2.33 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 -2.34 mean?
AutoNation (STU:RWI) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.34 as of Aug. 08, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on AutoNation and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, AutoNation ranks #854 out of 1273 companies in the Vehicles & Parts industry, placing it in the top 67.1%.
Is AutoNation's Beneish M-Score too high?
AutoNation's current Beneish M-Score is -2.34. Based on the distribution chart, AutoNation ranks #854 out of 1273 companies in the Vehicles & Parts industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, AutoNation has a GF Score™ of 79/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does AutoNation's Beneish M-Score compare to LAD and ALTB?
According to the Vehicles & Parts industry distribution chart, AutoNation ranks #854 out of 1273 companies for Beneish M-Score. This places AutoNation in the lower 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 Vehicles & Parts company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Vehicles & Parts 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 AutoNation and its competitors. AutoNation's current Beneish M-Score is -2.34. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is AutoNation stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, AutoNation (STU:RWI) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is €187.92, compared to a current price of €180.70 — trading 3.8% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.34. AutoNation's overall GF Score™ is 79/100 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 AutoNation (STU:RWI), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.34 as of Aug. 08, 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 AutoNation (STU:RWI) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, AutoNation stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of €180.70 is trading 3.8% below its estimated GF Value™ of €187.92. GuruFocus considers AutoNation to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for STU:RWI:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.34
  • GF Value™: €187.92 vs. price of €180.70 (3.8% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 79/100 with 6 warning signs

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


AutoNation Business Description

Other Exchanges AN:USA
Address 200 SW 1st Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, 33301
AutoNation is the second-largest automotive dealer in the United States, with 2025 revenue of $27.6 billion and over 240 dealerships, plus 52 collision centers. The firm also has 25 AutoNation USA used-vehicle stores, a captive lender, four auction sites, and three parts distributors across 20 states primarily in Sunbelt metropolitan areas. New-vehicle sales account for nearly half of revenue; the company also sells used vehicles, parts, and repair services as well as auto financing. The company (formerly Republic Industries) divested its waste management unit (Republic Services) in 1999 and its car rental businesses (ANC Rental) in 2000. Wayne Huizenga founded the company in the 1990s to bring the rollup acquisition strategy to auto retailing, which proved to be a smart move.
79GF Score

Get the complete analysis for STU:RWI

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

€180.70
Price
€187.92
GF Value