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ECL (Ecolab) Beneish M-Score : -2.82 (As of Oct. 31, 2024)


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What is Ecolab 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 -2.82 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

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

ECL' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.51   Med: -2.61   Max: -2.39
Current: -2.82

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Ecolab was -2.39. The lowest was -3.51. And the median was -2.61.


Ecolab Beneish M-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Ecolab'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.

* Premium members only.

Ecolab Beneish M-Score Chart

Ecolab Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.73 -3.33 -2.53 -2.52 -2.67

Ecolab Quarterly Data
Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24
Beneish M-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.69 -2.67 -2.81 -2.82 -

Competitive Comparison of Ecolab's Beneish M-Score

For the Specialty Chemicals subindustry, Ecolab'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.


Ecolab's Beneish M-Score Distribution in the Chemicals Industry

For the Chemicals industry and Basic Materials sector, Ecolab's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

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



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

M=-4.84+0.92 * DSRI+0.528 * GMI+0.404 * AQI+0.892 * SGI+0.115 * DEPI
=-4.84+0.92 * 0.9068+0.528 * 0.9041+0.404 * 0.9567+0.892 * 1.0589+0.115 * 1.049
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 1.0468+4.679 * -0.053108-0.327 * 0.9609
=-2.82

* 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.

This Year (Jun24) TTM:Last Year (Jun23) TTM:
Total Receivables was $2,876 Mil.
Revenue was 3985.8 + 3751.9 + 3938.4 + 3958.1 = $15,634 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1744.8 + 1623.8 + 1654 + 1627.6 = $6,650 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $5,752 Mil.
Total Assets was $21,462 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $3,990 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $930 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $4,213 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $3,848 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $7,977 Mil.
Net Income was 490.9 + 412.1 + 405.2 + 404 = $1,712 Mil.
Non Operating Income was 0.4 + -15.6 + -11.3 + -22.2 = $-49 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 611.1 + 649.4 + 852.5 + 787.7 = $2,901 Mil.
Total Receivables was $2,995 Mil.
Revenue was 3852.1 + 3571.6 + 3671.2 + 3669.3 = $14,764 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1517.3 + 1366.4 + 1416.3 + 1377.7 = $5,678 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $5,437 Mil.
Total Assets was $21,456 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $3,773 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $933 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $3,801 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $4,468 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $7,835 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)
=(2876.3 / 15634.2) / (2995.4 / 14764.2)
=0.183975 / 0.202883
=0.9068

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)
=(5677.7 / 14764.2) / (6650.2 / 15634.2)
=0.384559 / 0.425362
=0.9041

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 - (5752.3 + 3989.9) / 21461.8) / (1 - (5436.5 + 3773.3) / 21456.2)
=0.546068 / 0.570763
=0.9567

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
=15634.2 / 14764.2
=1.0589

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))
=(933 / (933 + 3773.3)) / (929.7 / (929.7 + 3989.9))
=0.198245 / 0.188979
=1.049

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)
=(4213.1 / 15634.2) / (3800.9 / 14764.2)
=0.26948 / 0.25744
=1.0468

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)
=((7977.4 + 3847.6) / 21461.8) / ((7835 + 4467.5) / 21456.2)
=0.550979 / 0.573377
=0.9609

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
=(1712.2 - -48.7 - 2900.7) / 21461.8
=-0.053108

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.

Ecolab has a M-score of -2.82 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.


Ecolab Business Description

Address
1 Ecolab Place, Saint Paul, MN, USA, 55102
Ecolab produces and markets cleaning and sanitation products for the industrial manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, and life sciences markets. The firm is the global market share leader in this category with a wide array of products and services, including dish and laundry washing systems, pest control, and infection control products. Additionally, Ecolab sells customized water management solutions across its end markets. The company has a strong hold on the US market and is growing its presence abroad.
Executives
Victoria Reich director UNITED STATIONERS SUPPLY CO, ONE PARKWAY NORTH BLVD SUITE 100, LAKE FOREST IL 60045
Gregory B Cook officer: EVP & PRES - INST GROUP 1 ECOLAB PLACE, SAINT PAUL MN 55102
Nicholas J. Alfano officer: EVP & PRES - GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL 1 ECOLAB PLACE, SAINT PAUL MN 55102
Laurie M Marsh officer: Senior VP - Human Resources 1601 W. DIEHL ROAD, NAPERVILLE IL 60563
David Maclennan director 14701 CHARLSON ROAD, EDEN PRAIRIE MN 55347
Arthur J Higgins director C/O ZIMMER, INC., P.O. BOX 708, WARSAW IN 46580
Jennifer J Bradway officer: SVP & CORPORATE CONTROLLER 1 ECOLAB PLACE, ST. PAUL MN 55102
Angela M Busch officer: SVP - Corporate Development 1 ECOLAB PLACE, SAINT PAUL MN 55102
Nicolas A Granucci officer: EVP & PRES - GLOBAL PEST 1 ECOLAB PLACE, SAINT PAUL MN 55102
Larry L Berger officer: Chief Technical Officer & SVP 1 ECOLAB PLACE, SAINT PAUL MN 55102
Gail Peterson officer: SVP - Global Mktg & Comms 1 ECOLAB PLACE, SAINT PAUL MN 55102
Christophe Beck officer: Executive V.P., Instit. NA 370 WABASHA STREET NORTH, SAINT PAUL MN 55102
Eric Mark Green director 530 HERMAN O. WEST DRIVE, EXTON PA 19341
Gates William H Iii 10 percent owner 2365 CARILLON POINT, KIRKLAND WA 98033
Michael C. Mccormick officer: Ex.VP, GC & Asst. Secretary 1 ECOLAB PLACE, ST. PAUL MN 55102