Williams-Sonoma (STU:WM1) Beneish M-Score: -2.64 (As of Jun. 25, 2026)


STU:WM1 Williams-Sonoma Inc STU:WM1
88 GF Score
Price €198.65
GF Value €145.37
Valuation Significantly Overvalued
! 6 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Williams-Sonoma Beneish M-Score?

Williams-Sonoma STU:WM1 -0.15% 88 Beneish M-Score is -2.64 as of Jun. 25, 2026. GuruFocus rates STU:WM1 with a GF Score™ of 88/100 and a GF Value™ of €145.37 (Significantly Overvalued). The stock has 6 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,087 Retail - Cyclical companies, Williams-Sonoma ranks better than 55.93% 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 -2.64 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

STU:WM1' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.13   Med: -2.82   Max: -1.63
Current: -2.64

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Williams-Sonoma was -1.63. The lowest was -3.13. And the median was -2.82.


Williams-Sonoma Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Williams-Sonoma'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.

Williams-Sonoma Beneish M-Score Chart

Williams-Sonoma 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 -2.80 -2.43 -3.06 -2.75 -2.62

Williams-Sonoma 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 -2.55 -2.63 -2.58 -2.62 -2.64

STU:WM1 vs ULTA, DKS, CASY: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Specialty Retail subindustry, Williams-Sonoma'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.


Williams-Sonoma Beneish M-Score vs Retail - Cyclical Industry

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

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


STU:WM1
88GF Score
Williams-Sonoma Inc STU:WM1
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Williams-Sonoma 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 Williams-Sonoma 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 * 1.1678+0.528 * 0.9921+0.404 * 0.9766+0.892 * 0.9336+0.115 * 1.0963
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.0181+4.679 * -0.051998-0.327 * 1.0833
=-2.66

* 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 €119 Mil.
Revenue was 1543.665 + 2005.917 + 1617.337 + 1574.103 = €6,741 Mil.
Gross Profit was 678.379 + 940.258 + 745.383 + 740.982 = €3,105 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €2,006 Mil.
Total Assets was €4,326 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €2,050 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €198 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €1,894 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €1,507 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €1,093 Mil.
Net Income was 197.815 + 313.185 + 207.528 + 212.161 = €931 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = €0 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 133.656 + 507.982 + 271.691 + 242.299 = €1,156 Mil.
Total Receivables was €109 Mil.
Revenue was 1539.801 + 2378.503 + 1653.013 + 1648.819 = €7,220 Mil.
Gross Profit was 681.57 + 1125.994 + 750.526 + 741.233 = €3,299 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €2,312 Mil.
Total Assets was €4,590 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €1,985 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €212 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €1,992 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €1,532 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €1,014 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)
=(119.142 / 6741.022) / (109.268 / 7220.136)
=0.017674 / 0.015134
=1.1678

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)
=(3299.323 / 7220.136) / (3105.002 / 6741.022)
=0.456961 / 0.460613
=0.9921

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 - (2005.584 + 2050.362) / 4325.914) / (1 - (2311.617 + 1985.083) / 4590.01)
=0.062407 / 0.063902
=0.9766

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
=6741.022 / 7220.136
=0.9336

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))
=(211.852 / (211.852 + 1985.083)) / (197.743 / (197.743 + 2050.362))
=0.096431 / 0.08796
=1.0963

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)
=(1893.704 / 6741.022) / (1992.229 / 7220.136)
=0.280922 / 0.275927
=1.0181

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)
=((1093.044 + 1507.17) / 4325.914) / ((1014.373 + 1532.44) / 4590.01)
=0.601079 / 0.55486
=1.0833

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
=(930.689 - 0 - 1155.628) / 4325.914
=-0.051998

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.

Williams-Sonoma has a M-score of -2.66 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 -2.64 mean?
Williams-Sonoma (STU:WM1) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.64 as of Jun. 25, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Williams-Sonoma and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Williams-Sonoma ranks #479 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, placing it in the top 44.1%.
Is Williams-Sonoma's Beneish M-Score too high?
Williams-Sonoma's current Beneish M-Score is -2.64. Based on the distribution chart, Williams-Sonoma ranks #479 out of 1087 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, Williams-Sonoma has a GF Score™ of 88/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Williams-Sonoma's Beneish M-Score compare to ULTA and DKS?
According to the Retail - Cyclical industry distribution chart, Williams-Sonoma ranks #479 out of 1087 companies for Beneish M-Score. This puts Williams-Sonoma 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 Williams-Sonoma and its competitors. Williams-Sonoma's current Beneish M-Score is -2.64. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Williams-Sonoma stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Williams-Sonoma (STU:WM1) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is €145.37, compared to a current price of €198.65 — trading 36.7% above its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.64. Williams-Sonoma's overall GF Score™ is 88/100 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 Williams-Sonoma (STU:WM1), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.64 as of Jun. 25, 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 Williams-Sonoma (STU:WM1) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Williams-Sonoma stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of €198.65 is trading 36.7% above its estimated GF Value™ of €145.37. GuruFocus considers Williams-Sonoma to be Significantly Overvalued.

Key valuation signals for STU:WM1:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.64
  • GF Value™: €145.37 vs. price of €198.65 (36.7% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 88/100 with 6 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the STU:WM1 stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Williams-Sonoma Business Description

Address 3250 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA, USA, 94109
With a retail and direct-to-consumer presence, Williams-Sonoma is a player in the nearly $300 billion domestic home category and $450 billion international home market, focused on expanding its exposure in the B2B ($80 billion total addressable market), marketplace, and franchise areas. Namesake Williams-Sonoma (153 stores) offers high-end cooking essentials, while Pottery Barn (180) provides casual home accessories. West Elm (116) is an emerging concept for young professionals, and Rejuvenation (13) offers lighting and house parts. Brand extensions include Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen (43) as well as Mark & Graham and GreenRow. Williams-Sonoma also has a business-to-business team that supports projects that range from residential to large-scale commercial.
88GF Score

Get the complete analysis for STU:WM1

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

€198.65
Price
€145.37
GF Value