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AES earnings quality score

How much of the reported profit is backed by cash, and how many markers of managed earnings the filings show

Score75 / 100 · grade B · rank 167 of 1027

AES (AES) scores 75 of 100 for earnings quality, grade B: rank 167 of 1027 companies and 14 of 55 in utilities. It loses the most points on Montier C-score 3 of 6 checks failed, accruals of -6.9% of assets, lower than 71% of companies (profit backed by cash), adjusted earnings 14% below GAAP. It earns full or near-full marks for Beneish M-score -2.75: clean (below −2.22), Dechow F-score 0.17 (normal), profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 1.97).

What earned and lost points

ComponentWhat the filings showPointsOf
Accrualsaccruals of -6.9% of assets, lower than 71% of companies (profit backed by cash)1420
Beneish M-scoreBeneish M-score -2.75: clean (below −2.22)1515
Dechow F-scoreDechow F-score 0.17 (normal)1515
Montier C-scoreMontier C-score 3 of 6 checks failed815
Discretionary accrualsdiscretionary accruals of -1.4% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most810
Piotroski F-scorePiotroski F-score 5 of 9610
Non-GAAP gapadjusted earnings 14% below GAAP510
Earnings smoothnessprofit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 1.97)55
AES: share of the available points, by componentAES: share of the available points, by componentAccruals71%Discretionary accruals76%Beneish M-score100%Dechow F-score100%Montier C-score50%Piotroski F-score56%Non-GAAP gap54%Earnings smoothness100%

How the score is built

Eight published measures, each scored against the whole universe or on its own scale and weighted: accruals 20, discretionary accruals 10, Beneish M 15, Dechow F 15, Montier C 15, Piotroski F 10, the non-GAAP gap 10, smoothness 5. A measure that cannot be computed (Beneish for a bank, say) drops out and the rest is rescaled, so every company is scored on what applies to it.

Every company ranked → The full quality workbench, live → AES: cash flow →

Computed from the companies’ own XBRL filings (latest fiscal year) by published formulas; a statistical screen, not an audit or an accusation. A low score means the reported profit shows more of the markers of managed or low-quality earnings than its peers. Not investment advice.