TickerGuard
Buy Day today: Good (62) Broad market participation · no major macro event

Risk & Weakness

Beneish M-Score

630 Findings · last calculated September 18, 2026 Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q) · Market filter active: the list shows 0 hits from Germany

Methodology & criteria

Professor Messod Beneish's earnings-manipulation indicator: eight ratios drawn from two annual financial statements (receivables vs. revenue, margin decay, depreciation rate, accruals, leverage, and others) combine into the M-Score. Values above −1.78 are considered a warning sign of possible earnings manipulation — Beneish used it to flag Enron ahead of its collapse, among others. Not proof, but a reason to read the balance sheet closely. Source: fundamental data.

No global trading filters — this strategy checks the entire stock universe purely against its own criteria (mega caps over $50B included).

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Terms in This Scanner Explained

(14)
ADR (Average Daily Range)
The average daily swing of a stock in percent - measured over 10 or 30 trading days (columns "ADR 10D/30D"). An ADR of 5% means: on a normal day the gap between the intraday low and high runs about 5%. Traders look for movement - that is why stocks with an ADR under 1% are filtered out globally. Scanners that run without the global filters still include them; that is noted below their hit list. Not to be confused with ADR meaning "American Depositary Receipt" (a US certificate for foreign shares) - here ADR always means the daily swing.
AI Classification
Our company-by-company assessment of the AI boom based on SEC filings (the last four quarterly 10-Q reports and two annual 10-K reports): "Sells AI" (AI is a revenue source), "Threatened" (AI is a concrete business risk), "Uses AI" (operational use), or "Neutral" (no material AI exposure). Every classification requires at least two direct quote citations - otherwise the column shows "-". Not a quality judgment or a buy recommendation; the full file is on the stock page, methodology at /stocks/ai-rating-methodology.
Analysis (Full Company Analysis)
If the Analysis column shows "Read," there is an in-depth TickerGuard company analysis for this stock: business model, scanner findings, quarterly results, evidence from SEC filings, plus opportunities and risks. One click opens it directly.
Avg/Yr 3Y (Average Annual Return)
The stock's average annual return over the past 3 years. Shows at a glance whether a stock delivers over the long run or just had a short hot streak.
Earnings Date
The date of the next quarterly earnings report. Price gaps in either direction are common around this date - that is why we color it red when it is 7 days away or less, and yellow when it is 14 days away or less: elevated risk for fresh positions.
EPS (Earnings per Share)
Quarterly earnings divided by the number of shares outstanding. The most important growth metric: if EPS rises strongly over several quarters, the company is earning more money per share.
Free Cash Flow (FCF)
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures - the money left over for everything else (debt paydown, acquisitions, or buybacks). Consistently positive free cash flow is one of the most honest signs of a healthy business model.
Funda Rating (Fundamental Rating A+ to F)
Our proprietary fundamental rating from 0 to 100 points with a school-grade rank from A+ to F. 50 points is the average across the universe, 100 the best possible score. Every stock is scored against all others by percentile: growth in earnings and revenue, earnings surprises, analyst estimates, and quality criteria such as margins, cash flow, and balance-sheet strength. Grades: A+ from 95, A from 75, B from 55, C from 45, D from 25, E from 5, F below — A/A+ are the fundamentally strongest stocks in the universe.
Market Capitalization (Mkt Cap)
The market value of the company: share price x total shares outstanding, shown here in billions of dollars. Micro caps (< $0.3B) are small and volatile, mega caps (> $200B) are heavyweights. Our scanner universe is deliberately capped at $50B - we look for stocks with room to run. The cap does not apply to scanners that run without the global filters; that is noted below their hit list.
Net Margin
How much of revenue is left as profit? Net income divided by revenue, in percent. A 20% margin means: out of every dollar of revenue, 20 cents is left as profit. Rising margins are a strong quality signal.
Operating Cash Flow (OCF)
The cash that actually flows into the company from day-to-day operations - without accounting effects such as depreciation. A company can report book profits while still burning cash; operating cash flow reveals that.
Piotroski F-Score
A balance-sheet health check developed by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria covering earnings, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency produce a score from 0 to 9. Scores of 7 or higher are considered financially very solid, scores under 3 a warning sign.
Sector & Industry
Two levels of industry classification: sector is broad (e.g., Technology), industry is narrow (e.g., Semiconductors). Many strategies watch industry strength, because strong stocks are almost always found in strong industries.
Stage (Weinstein Stages 1-4)
Stan Weinstein divides every price chart into four stages: Stage 1 = basing (sideways after a downtrend), Stage 2 = uptrend (the only buying stage), Stage 3 = topping, Stage 4 = downtrend (avoid, or short candidate). Measured against the 30-week line (150-day moving average) and its slope.

View all terms in the Scanner Glossary

Hit List

Tip: clicking a column header sorts the table by that column; a second click flips the direction.

Beneish M-Score
Symbol M-Score Earnings Avg/Y 3Y Volatility Stage Funda Rating Piotroski MktCap Industry AI Rating Deep Dive Deep-Dive Report Sector Price YTD 6 Mo. 1 Year Off High Price Target RS EPS Rating ADR 10D ADR 30D Beta P/E P/E (f) P/S P/B P/FCF PEG EV/EBITDA EBIT Margin Gross Margin Net Margin ROE ROA Debt/Eq Equity Ratio Sales +/Y Growth Score Div. Yield Payout Ratio Altman Z Inst. % Short % Analysts
No stocks currently pass this scanner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Professor Messod Beneish's earnings-manipulation indicator: eight ratios drawn from two annual financial statements (receivables vs. revenue, margin decay, depreciation rate, accruals, leverage, and others) combine into the M-Score. Values above −1.78 are considered a warning sign of possible earnings manipulation — Beneish used it to flag Enron ahead of its collapse, among others.

All scanners are recalculated daily across the entire stock universe — most recently on September 18, 2026. The data basis is fundamental data and SEC filings (10-K annual reports and 10-Q quarterly reports).

Currently, 630 stocks pass this scanner's criteria (as of September 18, 2026). The 100 strongest hits are shown.

No global trading filters — this strategy checks the entire stock universe purely against its own criteria (mega caps over $50B included).

This scanner deliberately hunts for red flags — a hit is a finding, not a recommendation: like a smoke detector that beeps so you look in time. A hit is also not a bankruptcy verdict; most companies save themselves (say, through a capital raise, which dilutes existing shareholders). Portfolio owners use the list as an early-warning system, bargain hunters as an anti-shopping list, experienced traders as a watch list — it is never a buy or short recommendation.

Professor Messod Beneish's M-Score compares eight ratio relationships across the last two annual filings: receivables relative to sales (if they grow faster, revenue may be getting booked too early), gross-margin deterioration, asset quality, sales growth, depreciation pace, administrative costs, book profits without cash-flow backing (accruals), and leverage. The result is a single number: values above −1.78 count as a red flag that results may be dressed up. Important: the score is a statistical signal, not proof — it also fires on honest companies with unusual balance-sheet movements (say, after acquisitions). If depreciation or administrative costs are missing from the filing, those components count as neutral; without the mandatory components (including sales, receivables, and cash flow for both years), no score is calculated. Source: fundamental data.

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Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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