Definition of 'Altman Z-Score'
The output of a credit-strength test that gauges a publicly traded manufacturing company's likelihood of bankruptcy. The Altman Z-score, is based on five financial ratios that can be calculated from data found on a company's annual 10K report. The Altman Z-score is calculated as follows:Z-Score = 1.2A + 1.4B + 3.3C + 0.6D + 1.0E
Where:
A = Working Capital/Total Assets
B = Retained Earnings/Total Assets
C = Earnings Before Interest & Tax/Total Assets
D = Market Value of Equity/Total Liabilities
E = Sales/Total Assets
A score below 1.8 means the company is probably headed for bankruptcy, while companies with scores above 3.0 are not likely to go bankrupt. The lower/higher the score, the lower/higher the likelihood of bankruptcy.
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/altman.asp#ixzz2F8YoekGd
for more detailed info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altman_Z-score
