Morgan Stanley Stock Beneish M Score

MS Stock  USD 138.43  0.58  0.42%   
This module uses fundamental data of Morgan Stanley to approximate the value of its Beneish M Score. Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley Piotroski F Score and Morgan Stanley Altman Z Score analysis.
For more information on how to buy Morgan Stock please use our How to Invest in Morgan Stanley guide.
  
At this time, Morgan Stanley's Short and Long Term Debt Total is comparatively stable compared to the past year. Net Debt is likely to gain to about 262.9 B in 2025, whereas Long Term Debt Total is likely to drop slightly above 205.7 B in 2025. At this time, Morgan Stanley's Intangibles To Total Assets are comparatively stable compared to the past year. Receivables Turnover is likely to gain to 1.22 in 2025, whereas PTB Ratio is likely to drop 1.49 in 2025.
At this time, it appears that Morgan Stanley is an unlikely manipulator. The earnings manipulation may begin if Morgan Stanley'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 Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley'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.
-2.37
Beneish M Score - Unlikely Manipulator
Elasticity of Receivables

1.0

Focus
Asset Quality

1.01

Focus
Expense Coverage

0.9

Focus
Gross Margin Strengs

0.85

Focus
Accruals Factor

0.9

Focus
Depreciation Resistance

0.91

Focus
Net Sales Growth

1.05

Focus
Financial Leverage Condition

1.27

Focus

Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley'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 Receivables96.7 B92.1 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Assets1.4 T1.4 T
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Current Assets97.5 B102.6 B
Notably Down
Pretty Stable
Non Current Assets Total923.6 B879.6 B
Sufficiently Up
Pretty Stable
Selling General Administrative2.8 B2.9 B
Notably Down
Very volatile
Total Current Liabilities405 B249.6 B
Way Up
Slightly volatile
Net Debt262.9 B250.4 B
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Short Term Debt11.3 BB
Significantly Up
Slightly volatile
Long Term Debt166.8 B307.6 B
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Short Term Investments24.9 B26.2 B
Notably Down
Very volatile
Long Term Investments339.5 B323.4 B
Sufficiently Up
Pretty Stable
Gross Profit Margin0.720.85
Fairly Down
Pretty Stable

Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley's different financial indicators related to revenue, expenses, operating profit, and net earnings helps investors identify and prioritize their investing strategies towards Morgan Stanley in a much-optimized way. Analyzing correlations between earnings drivers directly associated with dollar figures is the most effective way to find Morgan Stanley's degree of accounting gimmicks and manipulations.

About Morgan Stanley 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.

Total Revenue

64.57 Billion

At this time, Morgan Stanley's Total Revenue is comparatively stable compared to the past year.

Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley. 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.
202020212022202320242025 (projected)
Net Receivables97.7B96.0B78.5B80.1B92.1B96.7B
Total Revenue48.0B59.8B53.4B53.6B61.5B64.6B
Total Assets1.1T1.2T1.2T1.2T1.4T1.4T
Total Current Assets275.6B285.7B128.8B89.2B102.6B97.5B
Net Debt165.5B156.3B153.5B217.7B250.4B262.9B
Short Term Debt14.1B10.3B5.1B8.9B8.0B11.3B
Long Term Debt217.1B227.4B238.1B267.5B307.6B166.8B
Operating Income23.1B29.8B24.6B23.6B29.5B31.0B
Investments(39.5B)(8.0B)(8.2B)(3.1B)(3.5B)(3.7B)

Morgan Stanley 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, Morgan Stanley's sustainability indicators can be used to identify proper investment strategies using environmental, social, and governance scores that are crucial to Morgan Stanley's managers, analysts, and investors.
Environmental
Governance
Social

About Morgan Stanley Fundamental Analysis

The Macroaxis Fundamental Analysis modules help investors analyze Morgan Stanley's financials across various querterly and yearly statements, indicators and fundamental ratios. We help investors to determine the real value of Morgan Stanley using virtually all public information available. We use both quantitative as well as qualitative analysis to arrive at the intrinsic value of Morgan Stanley 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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Additional Tools for Morgan Stock Analysis

When running Morgan Stanley's price analysis, check to measure Morgan Stanley's market volatility, profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency, growth potential, financial leverage, and other vital indicators. We have many different tools that can be utilized to determine how healthy Morgan Stanley is operating at the current time. Most of Morgan Stanley's value examination focuses on studying past and present price action to predict the probability of Morgan Stanley's future price movements. You can analyze the entity against its peers and the financial market as a whole to determine factors that move Morgan Stanley's price. Additionally, you may evaluate how the addition of Morgan Stanley to your portfolios can decrease your overall portfolio volatility.