Klarna Group (WBO:KLAR) Beneish M-Score: -1.45 (As of Aug. 22, 2026)

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WBO:KLAR Klarna Group PLC WBO:KLAR
12 GF Score
Price €12.32
! 3 Warning Signs
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What is Klarna Group Beneish M-Score?

Klarna Group WBO:KLAR +2.16% 12 Beneish M-Score is -1.45 as of Aug. 22, 2026. GuruFocus rates WBO:KLAR with a GF Score™ of 12/100. The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 489 Credit Services companies, Klarna Group ranks worse than 70.35% 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.

Warning Sign:

Beneish M-Score -1.45 higher than -1.78, which implies that the company might have manipulated its financial results.

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

WBO:KLAR' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -1.88   Med: -1.67   Max: -1.45
Current: -1.45

During the past 4 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Klarna Group was -1.45. The lowest was -1.88. And the median was -1.67.


Klarna Group Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Klarna Group'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.

Klarna Group Beneish M-Score Chart

Klarna Group Annual Data
Trend Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Beneish M-Score
0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.88

Klarna Group Quarterly Data
Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26
Beneish M-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.88 -1.45

WBO:KLAR vs OMF, CACC, ENVA: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Credit Services subindustry, Klarna Group'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.


Klarna Group Beneish M-Score vs Credit Services Industry

For the Credit Services industry and Financial Services sector, Klarna Group's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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


WBO:KLAR
12GF Score
Klarna Group PLC WBO:KLAR
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
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Klarna Group 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 Klarna Group 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 * 0.8773+0.528 * 1.1166+0.404 * 1.3092+0.892 * 1.232+0.115 * 1.0376
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.8153+4.679 * 0.131816-0.327 * 0.9939
=-1.54

* 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 (Mar26) TTM:Last Year (Mar25) TTM:
Total Receivables was €8,885 Mil.
Revenue was 875.38 + 924.882 + 769.356 + 713.541 = €3,283 Mil.
Gross Profit was 645.29 + 33.306 + 592.14 + 400.554 = €1,671 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €12,343 Mil.
Total Assets was €15,560 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €54 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €100 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €620 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €11,926 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €1,102 Mil.
Net Income was -4.325 + -40.138 + -80.94 + -45.084 = €-170 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -1.73 + -4.27 + -3.408 + 0 = €-9 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was -823.48 + -2594.452 + 402.144 + 803.709 = €-2,212 Mil.
Total Receivables was €8,220 Mil.
Revenue was 648.425 + 746.81 + 636.106 + 633.578 = €2,665 Mil.
Gross Profit was 496.725 + 120.33 + 500.055 + 397.612 = €1,515 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €12,051 Mil.
Total Assets was €14,362 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €80 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €167 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €618 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €11,561 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €538 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)
=(8885.28 / 3283.159) / (8220.475 / 2664.919)
=2.70632 / 3.0847
=0.8773

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)
=(1514.722 / 2664.919) / (1671.29 / 3283.159)
=0.568393 / 0.509049
=1.1166

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 - (12342.685 + 53.63) / 15559.62) / (1 - (12050.9 + 80.475) / 14361.55)
=0.203302 / 0.155288
=1.3092

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
=3283.159 / 2664.919
=1.232

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))
=(167.179 / (167.179 + 80.475)) / (99.864 / (99.864 + 53.63))
=0.675051 / 0.650605
=1.0376

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)
=(620.33 / 3283.159) / (617.588 / 2664.919)
=0.188943 / 0.231747
=0.8153

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)
=((1102.01 + 11925.755) / 15559.62) / ((538.35 + 11560.65) / 14361.55)
=0.83728 / 0.842458
=0.9939

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
=(-170.487 - -9.408 - -2212.079) / 15559.62
=0.131816

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.

Klarna Group has a M-score of -1.54 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Beneish M-Score →
What does a Beneish M-Score of -1.45 mean?
Klarna Group (WBO:KLAR) has a Beneish M-Score of -1.45 as of Aug. 22, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Klarna Group and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Klarna Group ranks #344 out of 489 companies in the Credit Services industry, placing it in the top 70.3%.
Is Klarna Group's Beneish M-Score too high?
Klarna Group's current Beneish M-Score is -1.45. Based on the distribution chart, Klarna Group ranks #344 out of 489 companies in the Credit Services industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Klarna Group has a GF Score™ of 12/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Klarna Group's Beneish M-Score compare to OMF and CACC?
According to the Credit Services industry distribution chart, Klarna Group ranks #344 out of 489 companies for Beneish M-Score. This places Klarna Group 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 Credit Services company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Credit Services 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 Klarna Group and its competitors. Klarna Group's current Beneish M-Score is -1.45. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Klarna Group stock overvalued right now?
Klarna Group (WBO:KLAR) has a current Beneish M-Score of -1.45. The current Beneish M-Score is -1.45. Klarna Group's overall GF Score™ is 12/100 with 3 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 Klarna Group (WBO:KLAR), the current Beneish M-Score is -1.45 as of Aug. 22, 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.

Klarna Group Business Description

Other Exchanges KLAR:USAH1W:Germany
Address 10 York Road, London, GBR, SE1 7ND
Klarna Group PLC is a technology-driven payments company, with operations spanning multiple countries. It connects consumers and merchants with comprehensive payment solutions and tailored advertising solutions, both online and offline. Its payment solutions provide consumers with more control and flexibility over their payments. It is a digital bank and flexible payments provider building the next-generation AI-powered commerce network.
12GF Score

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

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