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MercadoLibre earnings quality score

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

Score69 / 100 · grade B · rank 359 of 1027

MercadoLibre (MELI) scores 69 of 100 for earnings quality, grade B: rank 359 of 1027 companies and 74 of 287 in industrials. It loses the most points on Montier C-score 5 of 6 checks failed, discretionary accruals of -36.6% of assets (modified Jones), larger than most, Piotroski F-score 5 of 9. It earns full or near-full marks for accruals of -29.8% of assets, lower than 99% of companies (profit backed by cash), Beneish M-score -3.13: clean (below −2.22), Dechow F-score 0.64 (normal). Revenue grew 47% in the year: fast growth raises accruals, the Beneish and Dechow scores and the C-score by construction, so a growing company scores lower than a steady one with the same accounting.

What earned and lost points

ComponentWhat the filings showPointsOf
Accrualsaccruals of -29.8% of assets, lower than 99% of companies (profit backed by cash)2020
Beneish M-scoreBeneish M-score -3.13: clean (below −2.22)1515
Dechow F-scoreDechow F-score 0.64 (normal)1515
Montier C-scoreMontier C-score 5 of 6 checks failed215
Discretionary accrualsdiscretionary accruals of -36.6% of assets (modified Jones), larger than most010
Piotroski F-scorePiotroski F-score 5 of 9610
Non-GAAP gapadjusted and GAAP earnings agree1010
Earnings smoothnessprofit far steadier than cash flow (smoothness 0.30)15
MELI: share of the available points, by componentMELI: share of the available points, by componentAccruals99%Beneish M-score100%Dechow F-score100%Montier C-score17%Piotroski F-score56%Non-GAAP gap100%Earnings smoothness20%

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.

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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.