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Plains All American Pipeline LP earnings quality score
How much of the reported profit is backed by cash, and how many markers of managed earnings the filings show
Score56 / 100 · grade C · rank 783 of 1027
Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) scores 56 of 100 for earnings quality, grade C: rank 783 of 1027 companies and 199 of 287 in industrials. It loses the most points on Montier C-score 5 of 6 checks failed, accruals of -4.1% of assets, higher than 50% of companies (profit backed by cash), adjusted earnings 146% above GAAP. It earns full or near-full marks for discretionary accruals of -0.1% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most, Beneish M-score -2.71: clean (below −2.22), profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 0.90).
What earned and lost points
| Component | What the filings show | Points | Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accruals | accruals of -4.1% of assets, higher than 50% of companies (profit backed by cash) | 13 | 27 |
| Beneish M-score | Beneish M-score -2.71: clean (below −2.22) | 20 | 20 |
| Montier C-score | Montier C-score 5 of 6 checks failed | 3 | 20 |
| Discretionary accruals | discretionary accruals of -0.1% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most | 13 | 13 |
| Non-GAAP gap | adjusted earnings 146% above GAAP | 0 | 13 |
| Earnings smoothness | profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 0.90) | 7 | 7 |
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.