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Telephone & Data Systems earnings quality score
How much of the reported profit is backed by cash, and how many markers of managed earnings the filings show
Score71 / 100 · grade B · rank 301 of 1027
Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) scores 71 of 100 for earnings quality, grade B: rank 301 of 1027 companies and 10 of 30 in communication. It loses the most points on accruals of -5.2% of assets, lower than 60% of companies (profit backed by cash), Montier C-score 2 of 5 checks failed, adjusted earnings 18% above GAAP. It earns full or near-full marks for Dechow F-score 0.74 (normal), profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 1.05).
What earned and lost points
| Component | What the filings show | Points | Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accruals | accruals of -5.2% of assets, lower than 60% of companies (profit backed by cash) | 16 | 27 |
| Dechow F-score | Dechow F-score 0.74 (normal) | 20 | 20 |
| Montier C-score | Montier C-score 2 of 5 checks failed | 12 | 20 |
| Discretionary accruals | discretionary accruals of +0.9% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most | 11 | 13 |
| Non-GAAP gap | adjusted earnings 18% above GAAP | 5 | 13 |
| Earnings smoothness | profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 1.05) | 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.
Every company ranked → The full quality workbench, live → Telephone & Data Systems: 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.