Lifeway Foods Stock Beneish M Score

LWAY Stock  USD 12.08  0.35  2.98%   
This module uses fundamental data of Lifeway Foods to approximate the value of its Beneish M Score. Lifeway Foods 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 Lifeway Foods Piotroski F Score and Lifeway Foods Altman Z Score analysis.
For more information on how to buy Lifeway Stock please use our How to Invest in Lifeway Foods guide.
  
At this time, Lifeway Foods' Short and Long Term Debt Total is fairly stable compared to the past year. Short and Long Term Debt is likely to rise to about 1.4 M in 2024, despite the fact that Net Debt is likely to grow to (9.8 M). At this time, Lifeway Foods' Net Income Per Share is fairly stable compared to the past year. Days Of Inventory On Hand is likely to rise to 46.48 in 2024, whereas Price To Sales Ratio is likely to drop 1.17 in 2024.
At this time, it appears that Lifeway Foods is a possible manipulator. The earnings manipulation may begin if Lifeway Foods' 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 Lifeway Foods 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 Lifeway Foods' 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.
-1.99
Beneish M Score - Possible Manipulator
Elasticity of Receivables

1.0

Focus
Asset Quality

1.34

Focus
Expense Coverage

0.58

Focus
Gross Margin Strengs

1.61

Focus
Accruals Factor

0.58

Focus
Depreciation Resistance

0.68

Focus
Net Sales Growth

1.05

Focus
Financial Leverage Condition

1.15

Focus

Lifeway Foods 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 Lifeway Foods' 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 Receivables14.6 M13.9 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Revenue168.1 M160.1 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Assets86.8 M82.6 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Total Current Assets40.1 M38.2 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Non Current Assets Total46.7 M44.4 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Property Plant Equipment16.2 M24 M
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Depreciation And Amortization3.3 M3.2 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Selling General AdministrativeM13.1 M
Way Down
Slightly volatile
Total Current Liabilities17.4 M16.6 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Non Current Liabilities TotalM5.6 M
Fairly Down
Very volatile
Short Term DebtM1.3 M
Significantly Down
Very volatile
Long Term Debt1.4 M1.5 M
Notably Down
Slightly volatile
Total Cash From Operating Activities17.8 M16.9 M
Sufficiently Up
Slightly volatile
Long Term Investments223 K226.5 K
Fairly Down
Slightly volatile
Gross Profit Margin0.420.2617
Way Up
Slightly volatile

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

About Lifeway Foods 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

3.32 Million

At this time, Lifeway Foods' Depreciation And Amortization is fairly stable compared to the past year.

Lifeway Foods 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 Lifeway Foods. 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 Receivables7.4M8.0M9.9M10.3M13.9M14.6M
Total Revenue103.4M93.7M102.0M119.1M160.1M168.1M
Total Assets56.8M57.0M60.1M70.9M82.6M86.8M
Total Current Assets18.9M19.2M24.1M29.0M38.2M40.1M
Net Debt3.0M(318K)(4.8M)(1.8M)(10.3M)(9.8M)
Long Term Debt2.7M2.8M6.2M5.3M1.5M1.4M
Operating Income(3.1M)(1.8M)4.9M5.9M17.0M17.8M
Investments1.5M(1.9M)(7.1M)(4.0M)(4.0M)(3.8M)

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

About Lifeway Foods Fundamental Analysis

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

When running Lifeway Foods' price analysis, check to measure Lifeway Foods' 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 Lifeway Foods is operating at the current time. Most of Lifeway Foods' value examination focuses on studying past and present price action to predict the probability of Lifeway Foods' future price movements. You can analyze the entity against its peers and the financial market as a whole to determine factors that move Lifeway Foods' price. Additionally, you may evaluate how the addition of Lifeway Foods to your portfolios can decrease your overall portfolio volatility.