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3M earnings quality score

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

Score59 / 100 · grade C · rank 713 of 1027

3M (MMM) scores 59 of 100 for earnings quality, grade C: rank 713 of 1027 companies and 80 of 126 in health. It loses the most points on accruals of +2.4% of assets, higher than 93% of companies, adjusted earnings 26% below GAAP, Montier C-score 3 of 6 checks failed. It earns full or near-full marks for Beneish M-score -2.26: clean (below −2.22), Dechow F-score 0.52 (normal), profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 2.19).

What earned and lost points

ComponentWhat the filings showPointsOf
Accrualsaccruals of +2.4% of assets, higher than 93% of companies220
Beneish M-scoreBeneish M-score -2.26: clean (below −2.22)1515
Dechow F-scoreDechow F-score 0.52 (normal)1515
Montier C-scoreMontier C-score 3 of 6 checks failed815
Discretionary accrualsdiscretionary accruals of +1.2% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most810
Piotroski F-scorePiotroski F-score 5 of 9610
Non-GAAP gapadjusted earnings 26% below GAAP110
Earnings smoothnessprofit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 2.19)55
MMM: share of the available points, by componentMMM: share of the available points, by componentAccruals8%Discretionary accruals78%Beneish M-score100%Dechow F-score100%Montier C-score50%Piotroski F-score56%Non-GAAP gap13%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.

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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.