The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.
Emmis has a Altman Z-Score of -2.51, indicating it is in Distress Zones. This implies bankrupcy possibility in the next two years.
The zones of discrimination were as such:
When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.
The historical rank and industry rank for Emmis's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:
Emmis (OTCPK:EMMS) Altman Z-Score Explanation
X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.
X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.
X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.
X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.
X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.
Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.
Emmis Altman Z-Score Related Terms
Emmis Altman Z-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Emmis's Altman Z-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.
EMMS vs SALM, UONE, NTN: Altman Z-Score Comparison
For the Broadcasting subindustry, Emmis's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-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.
Emmis Altman Z-Score vs Media - Diversified Industry
For the Media - Diversified industry and Communication Services sector, Emmis's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Emmis's Altman Z-Score falls into.
Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.
Emmis's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:
Z
=
1.2
*
X1
+
1.4
*
X2
+
3.3
*
X3
+
0.6
*
X4
+
1.0
*
X5
=
1.2
*
0.4105
+
1.4
*
-2.1537
+
3.3
*
-0.1114
+
0.6
*
0.2035
+
1.0
*
0.2605
=
-2.51
* 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. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.
Emmis (EMMS) has a Altman Z-Score of -2.51 as of Jun. 25, 2026. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on Emmis and its competitors.
Is Emmis' Altman Z-Score too high?
Emmis' current Altman Z-Score is -2.51. Overall, Emmis has a GF Score™ of 16/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Emmis' Altman Z-Score compare to SALM and UONE?
Emmis' Altman Z-Score of -2.51 can be compared against companies in the Media - Diversified industry. The industry median Altman Z-Score is 1.97. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Altman Z-Score for a Media - Diversified company?
The median Altman Z-Score among Media - Diversified companies is 1.97, based on 1,020 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Altman Z-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Altman Z-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 Altman Z-Score mean?
A high Altman Z-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on Emmis and its competitors. For the Media - Diversified industry, the median Altman Z-Score is 1.97 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Emmis's current Altman Z-Score is -2.51. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Emmis stock overvalued right now?
Emmis (EMMS) has a current Altman Z-Score of -2.51. The current Altman Z-Score is -2.51. Emmis' overall GF Score™ is 16/100. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Altman Z-Score calculated?
Altman Z-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Emmis (EMMS), the current Altman Z-Score is -2.51 as of Jun. 25, 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.
Emmis Corp, formerly Emmis Communications Corp is a diversified media company principally focused on radio broadcasting. The company owns and operates radio and magazine entities in large and medium-sized markets throughout the United States. Its operations have aligned into two business segments: Radio and Publishing. A vast majority of revenue is generated from the Radio segment. The company generates revenue in the form of Advertising; Circulation, which includes revenues from digital and home delivery subscriptions; Nontraditional, which includes ticket sales and sponsorship of events on their stations and magazine conduct; LMA(Local Marketing Agreement) Fees; and other revenues.
16GF Score
Get the complete analysis for EMMS
Altman Z-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.
Quick Browse
Personalize
Premium Gurus 
Create New Portfolio
EMMS has been successfully added to your 
