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Ecolab (WBO:ECL) Beneish M-Score : -2.77 (As of Dec. 12, 2024)


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What is Ecolab 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 -2.77 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

WBO:ECL' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.51   Med: -2.62   Max: -2.39
Current: -2.77

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Ecolab was -2.39. The lowest was -3.51. And the median was -2.62.


Ecolab Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Ecolab'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.

Ecolab Beneish M-Score Chart

Ecolab Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.73 -3.33 -2.53 -2.52 -2.67

Ecolab Quarterly Data
Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24
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 -2.69 -2.67 -2.76 -2.77 -2.77

Competitive Comparison of Ecolab's Beneish M-Score

For the Specialty Chemicals subindustry, Ecolab'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.


Ecolab's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Chemicals Industry

For the Chemicals industry and Basic Materials sector, Ecolab's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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



Ecolab 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 Ecolab 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 * 0.9453+0.528 * 0.9131+0.404 * 0.9525+0.892 * 1.0215+0.115 * 1.0578
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.025+4.679 * -0.05385-0.327 * 0.9678
=-2.82

* 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 (Sep24) TTM:Last Year (Sep23) TTM:
Total Receivables was €2,731 Mil.
Revenue was 3602.649 + 3702.808 + 3451.748 + 3611.513 = €14,369 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1565.037 + 1620.919 + 1493.896 + 1516.718 = €6,197 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €5,513 Mil.
Total Assets was €19,914 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €3,815 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €853 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €3,863 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €4,243 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €6,781 Mil.
Net Income was 663.587 + 456.046 + 379.132 + 371.568 = €1,870 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 311.296 + 0.372 + -14.352 + -10.362 = €287 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 708.817 + 567.712 + 597.448 + 781.742 = €2,656 Mil.
Total Receivables was €2,828 Mil.
Revenue was 3708.74 + 3555.488 + 3335.874 + 3465.613 = €14,066 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1525.061 + 1400.468 + 1276.218 + 1336.987 = €5,539 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €5,425 Mil.
Total Assets was €20,481 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €3,625 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €869 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €3,689 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €4,311 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €7,404 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)
=(2730.931 / 14368.718) / (2827.96 / 14065.715)
=0.190061 / 0.201053
=0.9453

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)
=(5538.734 / 14065.715) / (6196.57 / 14368.718)
=0.393776 / 0.431254
=0.9131

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 - (5512.588 + 3814.564) / 19913.542) / (1 - (5424.668 + 3625.066) / 20481.04)
=0.531618 / 0.558141
=0.9525

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
=14368.718 / 14065.715
=1.0215

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))
=(868.776 / (868.776 + 3625.066)) / (853.019 / (853.019 + 3814.564))
=0.193326 / 0.182754
=1.0578

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)
=(3863.066 / 14368.718) / (3689.44 / 14065.715)
=0.268853 / 0.2623
=1.025

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)
=((6780.836 + 4242.899) / 19913.542) / ((7404.268 + 4310.669) / 20481.04)
=0.55358 / 0.571989
=0.9678

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
=(1870.333 - 286.954 - 2655.719) / 19913.542
=-0.05385

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.

Ecolab has a M-score of -2.82 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


Ecolab Business Description

Address
1 Ecolab Place, Saint Paul, MN, USA, 55102
Ecolab produces and markets cleaning and sanitation products for the industrial manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, and life sciences markets. The firm is the global market share leader in this category with a wide array of products and services, including dish and laundry washing systems, pest control, and infection control products. Additionally, Ecolab sells customized water management solutions across its end markets. The company has a strong hold on the US market and is growing its presence abroad.