Berkshire Hathaway Stock Beneish M Score

BRK-A Stock  USD 716,399  2,119  0.30%   
This module uses fundamental data of Berkshire Hathaway to approximate the value of its Beneish M Score. Berkshire Hathaway M Score tells investors if the company management is likely to be manipulating earnings. The score is calculated using eight financial indicators that are adjusted by a specific multiplier. Please note, the M Score is a probabilistic model and cannot detect companies that manipulate their earnings with 100% accuracy. Check out Berkshire Hathaway Piotroski F Score and Berkshire Hathaway Altman Z Score analysis.
  
At present, Berkshire Hathaway's Short and Long Term Debt Total is projected to increase significantly based on the last few years of reporting. The current year's Net Debt is expected to grow to about 94.8 B, whereas Short and Long Term Debt is forecasted to decline to about 5.1 B. At present, Berkshire Hathaway's PTB Ratio is projected to slightly decrease based on the last few years of reporting. The current year's Days Sales Outstanding is expected to grow to 80.85, whereas Price To Sales Ratio is forecasted to decline to 2.02.
At this time, it appears that Berkshire Hathaway is an unlikely manipulator. The earnings manipulation may begin if Berkshire Hathaway's top management creates an artificial sense of financial success, forcing the stock price to be traded at a high price-earnings multiple than it should be. In general, excessive earnings management by Berkshire Hathaway executives may lead to removing some of the operating profits from subsequent periods to inflate earnings in the following periods. This way, the manipulation of Berkshire Hathaway's earnings can lead to misrepresentations of actual financial condition, taking the otherwise loyal stakeholders on to the path of questionable ethical practices and plain fraud.
-2.23
Beneish M Score - Unlikely Manipulator
Elasticity of Receivables

1.0

Focus
Asset Quality

1.11

Focus
Expense Coverage

0.81

Focus
Gross Margin Strengs

0.68

Focus
Accruals Factor

0.81

Focus
Depreciation Resistance

0.72

Focus
Net Sales Growth

1.05

Focus
Financial Leverage Condition

0.99

Focus

Berkshire Hathaway Beneish M-Score Indicator Trends

The cure to earnings manipulation is the transparency of financial reporting. It will typically remove the temptation of the top executives to inflate earnings (i.e., to promote the idea of 'winning at any cost'). Because a healthy internal audit department can enhance transparency, the board should promote the auditors' access to all the record-keeping systems across the enterprise. For example, if Berkshire Hathaway's auditors report directly to the board (not management), the managers will be reluctant to manipulate simply due to the fear of punishment. On the other hand, the auditors will be free to investigate the ledgers properly because they know that the board has their back.
Current ValueLast YearChange From Last Year 10 Year Trend
Net Receivables46.4 B44.2 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Revenue382.7 B364.5 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Assets1.1 T1.1 T
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Current Assets222.4 B211.8 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Non Current Assets Total88.4 B93 B
Notably Down
Slightly volatile
Property Plant Equipment171.2 B232.2 B
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Depreciation And Amortization13.1 B12.5 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Selling General Administrative5.2 BB
Fairly Down
Pretty Stable
Total Current Liabilities7.8 B8.3 B
Notably Down
Pretty Stable
Non Current Liabilities Total515.5 B491 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Net Debt94.8 B90.2 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Short Term Debt5.6 B5.3 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Long Term Debt129.1 B122.9 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Cash From Operating Activities51.7 B49.2 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Short Term Investments136.1 B129.6 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Long Term Investments563.1 B536.3 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Gross Profit Margin0.450.6637
Way Down
Slightly volatile

Berkshire Hathaway Beneish M-Score Driver Matrix

One of the toughest challenges investors face today is learning how to quickly synthesize historical financial statements and information provided by the company, SEC reporting, and various external parties in order to detect the potential manipulation of earnings. Understanding the correlation between Berkshire Hathaway's different financial indicators related to revenue, expenses, operating profit, and net earnings helps investors identify and prioritize their investing strategies towards Berkshire Hathaway in a much-optimized way. Analyzing correlations between earnings drivers directly associated with dollar figures is the most effective way to find Berkshire Hathaway's degree of accounting gimmicks and manipulations.

About Berkshire Hathaway Beneish M Score

M-Score is one of many grading techniques for value stocks. It was developed by Professor M. Daniel Beneish of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and published in 1999 under the paper titled The Detection of Earnings Manipulation. The Beneish score is a multi-factor model that utilizes financial identifiers to compile eight variables used to classify whether a company has manipulated its reported earnings. The variables are built from the officially filed financial statements to create a final score call 'M Score.' The score helps to identify companies that are likely to manipulate their profits if they show deteriorating gross margins, operating expenses, and leverage against growing revenue.

Depreciation And Amortization

13.11 Billion

At present, Berkshire Hathaway's Depreciation And Amortization is projected to increase significantly based on the last few years of reporting.

Berkshire Hathaway Earnings Manipulation Drivers

Although earnings manipulation is typically not the result of intentional misconduct by the c-level executives, it is still a widespread practice by the senior management of public companies such as Berkshire Hathaway. It is usually done by a series of misrepresentations of various accounting rules and operating activities across multiple financial cycles. The best way to spot the manipulation is to examine the historical financial statement to find inconsistencies in earning reports to find trends in assets or liabilities that are not sustainable in the future.
201920202021202220232024 (projected)
Net Receivables35.8B35.9B39.6B48.3B44.2B46.4B
Total Revenue254.6B245.6B276.1B302.1B364.5B382.7B
Total Assets817.7B873.7B958.8B948.5B1.1T1.1T
Total Current Assets184.3B194.0B208.1B203.4B211.8B222.4B
Net Debt39.2B68.9B26.1B86.9B90.2B94.8B
Short Term Debt4.7B3.3B2.4B2.4B5.3B5.6B
Long Term Debt968M113.5B111.9B120.3B122.9B129.1B
Operating Income(77.2B)(113.6B)(82.4B)(27.0B)123.2B129.4B
Investments270M(379M)29.4B(87.6B)(31.4B)(33.0B)
Gross Profit Margin0.540.390.550.590.660.45

Berkshire Hathaway ESG Sustainability

Some studies have found that companies with high sustainability scores are getting higher valuations than competitors with lower social-engagement activities. While most ESG disclosures are voluntary and do not directly affect the long term financial condition, Berkshire Hathaway's sustainability indicators can be used to identify proper investment strategies using environmental, social, and governance scores that are crucial to Berkshire Hathaway's managers, analysts, and investors.
Environment Score
Governance Score
Social Score

About Berkshire Hathaway Fundamental Analysis

The Macroaxis Fundamental Analysis modules help investors analyze Berkshire Hathaway's financials across various querterly and yearly statements, indicators and fundamental ratios. We help investors to determine the real value of Berkshire Hathaway using virtually all public information available. We use both quantitative as well as qualitative analysis to arrive at the intrinsic value of Berkshire Hathaway based on its fundamental data. In general, a quantitative approach, as applied to this company, focuses on analyzing financial statements comparatively, whereas a qaualitative method uses data that is important to a company's growth but cannot be measured and presented in a numerical way.
Please read more on our fundamental analysis page.

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Other Information on Investing in Berkshire Stock

Berkshire Hathaway financial ratios help investors to determine whether Berkshire Stock is cheap or expensive when compared to a particular measure, such as profits or enterprise value. In other words, they help investors to determine the cost of investment in Berkshire with respect to the benefits of owning Berkshire Hathaway security.