AstraZeneca (STU:ZEGA) Beneish M-Score: -2.56 (As of Aug. 10, 2026)

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STU:ZEGA AstraZeneca PLC STU:ZEGA
91 GF Score
Price €78.00
GF Value €87.70
! 1 Warning Sign
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What is AstraZeneca Beneish M-Score?

AstraZeneca STU:ZEGA +1.30% 91 Beneish M-Score is -2.56 as of Aug. 10, 2026. GuruFocus rates STU:ZEGA with a GF Score™ of 91/100 and a GF Value™ of €87.70. The stock has 1 warning sign investors should review. Among 913 Drug Manufacturers companies, AstraZeneca ranks better than 55.09% 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 -2.56 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

STU:ZEGA' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -2.77   Med: -2.57   Max: -2.07
Current: -2.56

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of AstraZeneca was -2.07. The lowest was -2.77. And the median was -2.57.


AstraZeneca Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for AstraZeneca'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.

AstraZeneca Beneish M-Score Chart

AstraZeneca 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 -2.07 -2.63 -2.68 -2.59 -2.54

AstraZeneca 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 -2.50 -2.55 -2.54 -2.59 -2.56

STU:ZEGA vs LLY, JNJ, ABBV: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Drug Manufacturers - General subindustry, AstraZeneca'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.


AstraZeneca Beneish M-Score vs Drug Manufacturers Industry

For the Drug Manufacturers industry and Healthcare sector, AstraZeneca's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


STU:ZEGA
91GF Score
AstraZeneca PLC STU:ZEGA
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

AstraZeneca 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 AstraZeneca 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 * 0.9893+0.528 * 0.9939+0.404 * 0.9887+0.892 * 1.0235+0.115 * 1.0745
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.977+4.679 * -0.027668-0.327 * 0.9385
=-2.57

* 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 €12,438 Mil.
Revenue was 13353.312 + 13224.12 + 13239.562 + 12942.732 = €52,760 Mil.
Gross Profit was 11163.348 + 10907.65 + 10576.79 + 10556.28 = €43,204 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €24,274 Mil.
Total Assets was €100,543 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €14,148 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €5,259 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €18,688 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €27,388 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €22,572 Mil.
Net Income was 2176.076 + 2664.2 + 1986.404 + 2158.116 = €8,985 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = €0 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 2486.82 + 2905.535 + 2000.068 + 4374.168 = €11,767 Mil.
Total Receivables was €12,284 Mil.
Revenue was 12534.219 + 12568.9 + 14220.905 + 12222.065 = €51,546 Mil.
Gross Profit was 10390.128 + 10495.975 + 11618.53 + 9446.084 = €41,951 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €25,090 Mil.
Total Assets was €97,470 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €11,470 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €4,711 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €18,689 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €29,076 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €22,530 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)
=(12438.44 / 52759.726) / (12283.656 / 51546.089)
=0.235756 / 0.238304
=0.9893

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)
=(41950.717 / 51546.089) / (43204.068 / 52759.726)
=0.813849 / 0.818883
=0.9939

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 - (24273.62 + 14148.4) / 100543.044) / (1 - (25090.113 + 11469.543) / 97469.874)
=0.617855 / 0.624913
=0.9887

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
=52759.726 / 51546.089
=1.0235

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))
=(4710.95 / (4710.95 + 11469.543)) / (5258.582 / (5258.582 + 14148.4))
=0.29115 / 0.270963
=1.0745

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)
=(18688.039 / 52759.726) / (18688.647 / 51546.089)
=0.35421 / 0.362562
=0.977

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)
=((22572.34 + 27388.004) / 100543.044) / ((22529.862 + 29075.712) / 97469.874)
=0.496905 / 0.529452
=0.9385

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
=(8984.796 - 0 - 11766.591) / 100543.044
=-0.027668

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.

AstraZeneca has a M-score of -2.57 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 -2.56 mean?
AstraZeneca (STU:ZEGA) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.56 as of Aug. 10, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on AstraZeneca and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, AstraZeneca ranks #410 out of 913 companies in the Drug Manufacturers industry, placing it in the top 44.9%.
Is AstraZeneca's Beneish M-Score too high?
AstraZeneca's current Beneish M-Score is -2.56. Based on the distribution chart, AstraZeneca ranks #410 out of 913 companies in the Drug Manufacturers industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, AstraZeneca has a GF Score™ of 91/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does AstraZeneca's Beneish M-Score compare to LLY and JNJ?
According to the Drug Manufacturers industry distribution chart, AstraZeneca ranks #410 out of 913 companies for Beneish M-Score. This puts AstraZeneca 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 Drug Manufacturers company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Drug Manufacturers 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 AstraZeneca and its competitors. AstraZeneca's current Beneish M-Score is -2.56. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is AstraZeneca stock overvalued right now?
AstraZeneca (STU:ZEGA) has a current Beneish M-Score of -2.56. The stock's GF Value™ is €87.70, compared to a current price of €78.00 — trading 11.1% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.56. AstraZeneca's overall GF Score™ is 91/100 with 1 warning sign 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 AstraZeneca (STU:ZEGA), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.56 as of Aug. 10, 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 AstraZeneca (STU:ZEGA) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, AstraZeneca stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of €78.00 is trading 11.1% below its estimated GF Value™ of €87.70.

Key valuation signals for STU:ZEGA:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.56
  • GF Value™: €87.70 vs. price of €78.00 (11.1% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 91/100 with 1 warning sign

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


AstraZeneca Business Description

Address 1 Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, GBR, CB2 0AA
A merger between Astra of Sweden and Zeneca of the United Kingdom formed AstraZeneca in 1999. The firm sells branded drugs across a number of major therapeutic areas, including oncology (over 40% of total revenue), cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic (over 20%), rare disease (16%), and respiratory and immunology (15%). The majority of sales comes from international markets, with the United States representing close to one-third of its sales.
91GF Score

Get the complete analysis for STU:ZEGA

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

€78.00
Price
€87.70
GF Value