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MSCI earnings quality score
How much of the reported profit is backed by cash, and how many markers of managed earnings the filings show
Score60 / 100 · grade C · rank 691 of 1027
MSCI (MSCI) scores 60 of 100 for earnings quality, grade C: rank 691 of 1027 companies and 163 of 287 in industrials. It loses the most points on discretionary accruals of -10.2% of assets (modified Jones), larger than most, Montier C-score 2 of 4 checks failed, accruals of -6.9% of assets, lower than 71% of companies (profit backed by cash). It earns full or near-full marks for profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 0.77).
What earned and lost points
| Component | What the filings show | Points | Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accruals | accruals of -6.9% of assets, lower than 71% of companies (profit backed by cash) | 24 | 33 |
| Montier C-score | Montier C-score 2 of 4 checks failed | 12 | 25 |
| Discretionary accruals | discretionary accruals of -10.2% of assets (modified Jones), larger than most | 2 | 17 |
| Non-GAAP gap | adjusted earnings 6% below GAAP | 13 | 17 |
| Earnings smoothness | profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 0.77) | 8 | 8 |
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 → MSCI: 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.