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Activision Blizzard (WBO:ATVI) Beneish M-Score : -2.02 (As of Apr. 26, 2024)


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What is Activision Blizzard 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 -2.02 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

WBO:ATVI' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.95   Med: -2.45   Max: -0.21
Current: -2.02

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Activision Blizzard was -0.21. The lowest was -3.95. And the median was -2.45.


Activision Blizzard Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Activision Blizzard'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.

Activision Blizzard Beneish M-Score Chart

Activision Blizzard Annual Data
Trend Dec13 Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.18 -2.68 -2.41 -2.39 -2.38

Activision Blizzard Quarterly Data
Sep18 Dec18 Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23
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 -2.52 -2.16 -2.38 -2.17 -2.02

Competitive Comparison of Activision Blizzard's Beneish M-Score

For the Electronic Gaming & Multimedia subindustry, Activision Blizzard'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.


Activision Blizzard's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Interactive Media Industry

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

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



Activision Blizzard 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 Activision Blizzard 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 * 1.4597+0.528 * 1.0207+0.404 * 0.9124+0.892 * 1.2095+0.115 * 1.0156
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.1052+4.679 * -0.016723-0.327 * 1.0789
=-2.02

* 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 (Jun23) TTM:Last Year (Jun22) TTM:
Total Receivables was €955 Mil.
Revenue was 2037.061 + 2225.722 + 2203.296 + 1799.82 = €8,266 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1431.573 + 1604.612 + 1489.632 + 1292.8 = €5,819 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €14,303 Mil.
Total Assets was €26,322 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €188 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €364 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €2,206 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €3,066 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €3,334 Mil.
Net Income was 541.801 + 691.16 + 380.432 + 439.35 = €2,053 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 19.383 + -28.954 + 110.448 + -11.11 = €90 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 544.57 + 538.918 + 1060.112 + 259.57 = €2,403 Mil.
Total Receivables was €541 Mil.
Revenue was 1555.224 + 1605.344 + 1914.255 + 1759.5 = €6,834 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1096.414 + 1170.412 + 1331.925 + 1311.55 = €4,910 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €11,832 Mil.
Total Assets was €23,644 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €166 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €335 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €1,650 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €1,915 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €3,414 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)
=(955.305 / 8265.899) / (541.112 / 6834.323)
=0.115572 / 0.079176
=1.4597

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)
=(4910.301 / 6834.323) / (5818.617 / 8265.899)
=0.718477 / 0.70393
=1.0207

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 - (14302.808 + 188.292) / 26322.114) / (1 - (11831.622 + 165.55) / 23644.324)
=0.449471 / 0.492598
=0.9124

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
=8265.899 / 6834.323
=1.2095

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))
=(334.97 / (334.97 + 165.55)) / (363.873 / (363.873 + 188.292))
=0.669244 / 0.658993
=1.0156

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)
=(2206.209 / 8265.899) / (1650.442 / 6834.323)
=0.266905 / 0.241493
=1.1052

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)
=((3333.876 + 3066.206) / 26322.114) / ((3414.114 + 1914.704) / 23644.324)
=0.243145 / 0.225374
=1.0789

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
=(2052.743 - 89.767 - 2403.17) / 26322.114
=-0.016723

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.

Activision Blizzard has a M-score of -2.02 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


Activision Blizzard Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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Activision Blizzard (WBO:ATVI) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
N/A
Address
2701 Olympic Boulevard, Building B, Santa Monica, CA, USA, 90404
Activision Blizzard was formed in 2008 by the merger of Activision, one of the largest console video game publishers, and Blizzard, one of largest PC video game publishers. The combined firm remains one of the world's largest video game publishers. Activision's impressive franchise portfolio includes World of Warcraft, which boasts more than $8 billion of lifetime sales, and Call of Duty, which has sold over 175 million copies across 14 titles over 12 years.