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Designer BrandsFRA:D9W +0.89%71 Altman Z-Score is 1.83 as of Aug. 11, 2026, which is 14% below its 10-year median of 2.13. GuruFocus rates FRA:D9W with a GF Score™ of 71/100 and a GF Value™ of €5.80. The stock has 6 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,031 Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories companies, Designer Brands ranks worse than 66.73% on this metric.
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.
Warning Sign:
Altman Z-score of 1.83 is in the grey area. This implies that the company is under some kind of financial stress. If it is below 1.8, the company may face bankruptcy risk.
Designer Brands has a Altman Z-Score of 1.83, indicating it is in Grey Zones. This implies that Designer Brands is in some kind of financial stress. If it is below 1.81, the company may face bankrupcy risk.
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 Designer Brands's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:
FRA:D9W'
s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 0.32 Med: 2.13 Max: 5.51
Current: 1.83
During the past 13 years, Designer Brands's highest Altman Z-Score was 5.51. The lowest was 0.32. And the median was 2.13.
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.
Designer Brands Altman Z-Score Related Terms
Designer Brands Altman Z-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Designer Brands'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.
FRA:D9W vs FWDI, RCKY, FOSL: Altman Z-Score Comparison
For the Footwear & Accessories subindustry, Designer Brands'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.
Designer Brands Altman Z-Score vs Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories Industry
For the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Designer Brands's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Designer Brands'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.
Designer Brands'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
*
0.0804
+
1.4
*
0.0281
+
3.3
*
0.037
+
0.6
*
0.197
+
1.0
*
1.4533
=
1.83
* 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.
Designer Brands (FRA:D9W) has a Altman Z-Score of 1.83 as of Aug. 11, 2026. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on Designer Brands and its competitors. This is 14% below median its historical median of 2.13. Over the past decade, Designer Brands' Altman Z-Score has ranged from 0.32 to 5.51. According to the industry distribution chart, Designer Brands ranks #688 out of 1031 companies in the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry, placing it in the top 66.7%.
Is Designer Brands' Altman Z-Score too high?
Designer Brands' current Altman Z-Score of 1.83 is 14% below median its 10-year median of 2.13. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 0.32 to a high of 5.51. The Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry median Altman Z-Score is 2.52. Designer Brands' value of 1.83 is 27.4% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Designer Brands ranks #688 out of 1031 companies in the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Designer Brands has a GF Score™ of 71/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Designer Brands' Altman Z-Score compare to FWDI and RCKY?
According to the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry distribution chart, Designer Brands ranks #688 out of 1031 companies for Altman Z-Score. This places Designer Brands in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Altman Z-Score is 2.52. Designer Brands' value of 1.83 is 27.4% below this benchmark. Historically, Designer Brands' own Altman Z-Score has ranged from 0.32 to 5.51 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 2.13 vs. the industry median of 2.52, Designer Brands has consistently been below the industry average. 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 Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories company?
The median Altman Z-Score among Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories companies is 2.52, based on 1,031 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. Designer Brands's current Altman Z-Score of 1.83 is 27.4% below the industry median. 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 Designer Brands and its competitors. For the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry, the median Altman Z-Score is 2.52 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Designer Brands's current Altman Z-Score is 1.83, which is 14% below median its own 10-year median of 2.13. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Designer Brands stock overvalued right now?
Designer Brands (FRA:D9W) has a current Altman Z-Score of 1.83. The stock's GF Value™ is €5.80, compared to a current price of €5.65 — trading 2.6% below its estimated fair value. The current Altman Z-Score is 1.83, which is 14% below median its 10-year median of 2.13 and 27.4% below the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories industry median of 2.52. Designer Brands' overall GF Score™ is 71/100 with 6 warning signs to review. 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 Designer Brands (FRA:D9W), the current Altman Z-Score is 1.83 as of Aug. 11, 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.
Is Designer Brands (FRA:D9W) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Designer Brands stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of €5.65 is trading 2.6% below its estimated GF Value™ of €5.80.
Key valuation signals for FRA:D9W:
Altman Z-Score: 1.83 (14% below median its 10-year median of 2.13)
GF Value™: €5.80 vs. price of €5.65 (2.6% below fair value)
Industry Position: 27.4% below the Manufacturing - Apparel & Accessories median (#688 of 1031)
No single metric tells the full story. See the FRA:D9W stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Designer Brands Inc is a designer, producer, and retailer of footwear and accessories. The company operates in two reportable segments: the Retail segment and the Brand Portfolio segment. The Retail segment, which derives key revenue, operates the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse ("DSW") banner through its direct-to-consumer stores and e-commerce sites in the United States ("U.S.") and Canada, and the Shoe Co. and Rubino banners through its direct-to-consumer stores and e-commerce sites in Canada. The Brand Portfolio segment principally earns revenue from the wholesale of its exclusive and licensed brands to retailers, its Retail segment, and international distributors, and the sale of its Vince Camuto, Keds, and Topo brands through direct-to-consumer e-commerce sites.
71GF Score
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