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Morgan Stanley (WBO:MWD) Beneish M-Score : -2.22 (As of Jul. 05, 2025)


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What is Morgan Stanley Beneish M-Score?

Note: Financial institutions were excluded from the sample in Beneish paper when calculating Beneish M-Score. Thus, the prediction might not fit banks and insurance companies.

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 -2.22 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

WBO:MWD' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -2.82   Med: -2.39   Max: -1.67
Current: -2.22

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Morgan Stanley was -1.67. The lowest was -2.82. And the median was -2.39.


Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley 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 * 0.9668+0.528 * 1+0.404 * 1+0.892 * 1.1738+0.115 * 1
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9383+4.679 * 0.031127-0.327 * 1.0544
=-2.22

* 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 (Mar25) TTM:Last Year (Mar24) TTM:
Total Receivables was €85,242 Mil.
Revenue was 15278.225 + 14366.065 + 12919.439 + 13028.296 = €55,592 Mil.
Gross Profit was 15278.225 + 14366.065 + 12919.439 + 13028.296 = €55,592 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €0 Mil.
Total Assets was €1,202,774 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €0 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €4,696 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €25,814 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €0 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €281,137 Mil.
Net Income was 3991.375 + 3546.87 + 2872.388 + 2857.604 = €13,268 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = €0 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was -22177.8 + 11269 + -15608.023 + 2345.725 = €-24,171 Mil.
Total Receivables was €75,108 Mil.
Revenue was 13077.8 + 11032.427 + 11635.666 + 11613.186 = €47,359 Mil.
Gross Profit was 13077.8 + 11032.427 + 11635.666 + 11613.186 = €47,359 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €0 Mil.
Total Assets was €1,130,223 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was €0 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was €3,963 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was €23,436 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €0 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was €250,541 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)
=(85241.525 / 55592.025) / (75107.88 / 47359.079)
=1.533341 / 1.585924
=0.9668

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)
=(47359.079 / 47359.079) / (55592.025 / 55592.025)
=1 / 1
=1

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 - (0 + 0) / 1202773.8) / (1 - (0 + 0) / 1130222.76)
=1 / 1
=1

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
=55592.025 / 47359.079
=1.1738

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))
=(3963.064 / (3963.064 + 0)) / (4696.129 / (4696.129 + 0))
=1 / 1
=1

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)
=(25813.517 / 55592.025) / (23436.45 / 47359.079)
=0.464338 / 0.494867
=0.9383

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)
=((281137.1 + 0) / 1202773.8) / ((250540.84 + 0) / 1130222.76)
=0.233741 / 0.221674
=1.0544

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
=(13268.237 - 0 - -24171.098) / 1202773.8
=0.031127

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.

Morgan Stanley has a M-score of -2.22 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


Morgan Stanley Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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Morgan Stanley Business Description

Address
1585 Broadway, New York, NY, USA, 10036
Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank whose history, through its legacy firms, can be traced back to 1924. The company has institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management segments with approximately 45% of net revenue from its institutional securities business, 45% from wealth management, and 10% from investment management. About 24% of its total revenue is from outside the Americas. The company had over $6 trillion of client assets as well as around 70,000 employees at the end of 2024.