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Pearson PLC (PSORF) stock analysis

PSORFOTCBooks: Publishing or Publishing & PrintingFiscal year ends December 31Also trades as PSO
Financials through fiscal 2025, year ended Dec 31, 2025Score 8/30
$18.00+0.00 (0.00%)

Close on Oct 19, 2026Market cap $11.44BP/E 26.5Yield –

StockData Score

Prices as of Oct 30, 2026How the score works

Value0Growth2Performance4Health2Dividend0

Weak8 of 30 checks passed

Pearson passes 8 of the 30 checks behind our score; 14 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.

Valuation
0/6
Growth
2/6
Past performance
4/6
Financial health
2/6
Dividend
0/6

What stands out

  • Earnings grew over 5 years

    Net income grew 0.3% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

  • EPS growing 10%+ a year

    Diluted EPS grew 15.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.

  • Interest well covered

    Operating income covers interest expense 5.2 times.

  • Debt covered by cash flow

    Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 44.3% of total debt.

What to watch

  • Return on equity under 15%

    Return on equity was 8.7% over the last twelve months and averaged 7.7% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

  • Return on capital under 10%

    Return on invested capital was 7.6%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

  • High debt

    Debt is 40.6% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

  • Revenue growing under 10% a year

    Revenue grew -2.3% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

Valuation0/6

  • P/E against its history

    Not enough price and earnings history to compare.

  • P/E against the industry

    Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.

  • EV/EBITDA against its history

    Needs positive EBITDA and price history.

  • P/B against the industry

    Needs positive book value.

  • Price against fair value

    We could not estimate a fair value: it needs at least two valuation methods with positive inputs.

  • Margin of safety

    Depends on the fair value estimate.

Growth2/6

  • Revenue growing under 10% a year

    Revenue grew -2.3% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

  • EPS growing 10%+ a year

    Diluted EPS grew 15.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.

  • Earnings growth not accelerating

    Net income grew -22.8% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 0.3% a year.

  • Growing slower than the industry

    Revenue grew 0.7% over the last twelve months; the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median is 1.1%.

  • Company guidance

    No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.

  • Gross margin improving

    Gross margin was 52.0% over the last twelve months, against 51.0% a year earlier.

Past performance4/6

  • Return on equity under 15%

    Return on equity was 8.7% over the last twelve months and averaged 7.7% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

  • Return on capital under 10%

    Return on invested capital was 7.6%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

  • Return on equity above the industry

    Pearson's return on equity of 8.7% is above the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 7.4%.

  • Earnings grew over 5 years

    Net income grew 0.3% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

  • Net margin above its 5-year average

    Net margin was 9.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 8.7%.

  • Net margin above the industry

    Pearson's net margin of 9.4% is above the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 4.0%.

Financial health2/6

  • High debt

    Debt is 40.6% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

  • Debt rising against equity

    Debt to equity rose from 40.0% five years ago to 40.6%.

  • Debt covered by cash flow

    Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 44.3% of total debt.

  • Interest well covered

    Operating income covers interest expense 5.2 times.

  • Short-term liquidity

    The balance sheet is not split into current and non-current items.

  • Bankruptcy risk (Altman Z)

    Needs market value, working capital and retained earnings.

Dividend0/6

  • No dividend

    Pearson has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.

  • Yield against Treasuries

    No dividend.

  • Yield against the market

    No dividend.

  • Dividend stability

    No dividend.

  • Earnings cover

    No dividend.

  • Cash-flow cover

    No dividend.

Scores of similar companies

Fair value

How we estimate it

We don't publish a fair value for Pearson. It needs a US-dollar share price, at least two valuation methods with positive inputs (earnings, EBITDA, book value or sales) and, for companies with several share classes, classes that trade at the same price.

An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.

Market risk

From the past year of daily prices.

Liquidity

Medium risk

Average value traded per day
$12.12M
Value traded per 1% price move
$11.31M

Downside

Low risk

Typical loss in a bad month
12.7%
Volatility (annualized)
25%
Sharpe ratio, 1 year
0.70
Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
0.37

Typical bad-month loss, week by week

25%: high

Margins

Share of revenue, fiscal years 2015 to 2025

Gross margin

52.0%+4.0 pts over 5 years

Operating margin

14.2%+2.1 pts over 5 years

Net margin

9.4%−0.3 pts over 5 years