Altman Z-Score: Predicting Corporate Bankruptcy

The Altman Z-Score is a linear discriminant model developed by Edward I. Altman in 1968 to predict corporate bankruptcy using five accounting-based financial ratios. Derived through multiple discriminant analysis on a matched sample of 66 US manufacturing firms, the model combines liquidity, profitability, leverage, solvency, and activity ratios into a single composite score that classifies firms as financially sound, distressed, or in a grey zone.