Apple (XBUL:APC) Beneish M-Score : -2.50 (As of Apr. 04, 2025)

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What is Apple 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 -2.5 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

XBUL:APC' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -2.99 Med: -2.68 Max: -2
Current: -2.5

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Apple was -2.00. The lowest was -2.99. And the median was -2.68.

Apple Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Apple'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.

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Apple Beneish M-Score Chart

Apple Annual Data

Trend

Sep15

Sep16

Sep17

Sep18

Sep19

Sep20

Sep21

Sep22

Sep23

Sep24

Beneish M-Score

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-2.99

-2.25

-2.66

-2.77

Apple Quarterly Data
	Mar20	Jun20	Sep20	Dec20	Mar21	Jun21	Sep21	Dec21	Mar22	Jun22	Sep22	Dec22	Mar23	Jun23	Sep23	Dec23	Mar24	Jun24	Sep24	Dec24
Beneish M-Score	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															-2.79	-2.53	-2.58	-2.77	-2.50

Competitive Comparison of Apple's Beneish M-Score

For the Consumer Electronics subindustry, Apple'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.

Apple's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Hardware Industry

For the Hardware industry and Technology sector, Apple's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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

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Apple 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 Apple for today is based on a combination of the following eight different indices:

-4.84

0.92 * DSRI

0.528 * GMI

0.404 * AQI

0.892 * SGI

0.115 * DEPI

-4.84

0.92 * 1.1536

0.528 * 0.9679

0.404 * 1.0189

0.892 * 1.0261

0.115 * 1.0274

0.172 * SGAI

4.679 * TATA

0.327 * LVGI

0.172 * 1.028

4.679 * -0.0355

0.327 * 1.0241

-2.50

This Year (Dec24) TTM:

Last Year (Dec23) TTM:

Total Receivables was лв104,858 Mil.
Revenue was 219773.587 + 167844.784 + 151661.456 + 160459.472 = лв699,739 Mil.
Gross Profit was 103035.445 + 77582.021 + 70154.275 + 74738.932 = лв325,511 Mil.
Total Current Assets was лв235,580 Mil.
Total Assets was лв608,373 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was лв81,454 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was лв20,646 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was лв46,830 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was лв255,250 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was лв148,442 Mil.
Net Income was 64234.71 + 26054.574 + 37921.994 + 41790.575 = лв170,002 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -438.486 + 33.594 + 251.069 + 279.358 = лв126 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 52927.774 + 47404.261 + 51023.541 + 40117.962 = лв191,474 Mil.

Total Receivables was лв88,585 Mil.
Revenue was 211419.362 + 158240.519 + 144624.458 + 167678.583 = лв681,963 Mil.
Gross Profit was 96988.577 + 71478.574 + 64381.461 + 74217.346 = лв307,066 Mil.
Total Current Assets was лв254,060 Mil.
Total Assets was лв625,045 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was лв77,205 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was лв20,246 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was лв44,399 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was лв236,876 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was лв168,124 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)
	=	(104858.346 / 699739.299)	/	(88584.845 / 681962.922)
	=	0.149853	/	0.129897
	=	1.1536

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)
	=	(307065.958 / 681962.922)	/	(325510.673 / 699739.299)
	=	0.450268	/	0.465188
	=	0.9679

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 - (235580.312 + 81454.138) / 608373.248)	/	(1 - (254060.388 + 77205.418) / 625044.568)
	=	0.478882	/	0.470013
	=	1.0189

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
	=	699739.299	/	681962.922
	=	1.0261

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))
	=	(20246.399 / (20246.399 + 77205.418))	/	(20645.986 / (20645.986 + 81454.138))
	=	0.207758	/	0.202213
	=	1.0274

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)
	=	(46829.632 / 699739.299)	/	(44398.509 / 681962.922)
	=	0.066924	/	0.065104
	=	1.028

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)
	=	((148441.764 + 255250.313) / 608373.248)	/	((168124.142 + 236876.322) / 625044.568)
	=	0.66356	/	0.647955
	=	1.0241

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
	=	(170001.853 - 125.535	-	191473.538)	/	608373.248
	=	-0.0355

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.

Apple has a M-score of -2.50 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

Apple Beneish M-Score Related Terms

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Apple Business Description

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Address

One Apple Park Way, Cupertino, CA, USA, 95014

Website

https://www.apple.com

Apple is among the largest companies in the world, with a broad portfolio of hardware and software products targeted at consumers and businesses. Apple's iPhone makes up a majority of the firm sales, and Apple's other products like Mac, iPad, and Watch are designed around the iPhone as the focal point of an expansive software ecosystem. Apple has progressively worked to add new applications, like streaming video, subscription bundles, and augmented reality. The firm designs its own software and semiconductors while working with subcontractors like Foxconn and TSMC to build its products and chips. Slightly less than half of Apple's sales come directly through its flagship stores, with a majority of sales coming indirectly through partnerships and distribution.