profit from every $100 of sales.
$0$100
Pearson
$17.39+0.93% today
+30.8% in 1 year
1-year low $12.061-year high $18.39
Trading in the middle of its range for the past year.
The essentials
Four questions every investor asks, answered in one line each.
more sales each year, on average, 2022 to 2025.
0%20% a year
You pay $23.62 for every $1 of profit it makes in a year.
CheapExpensive
of earnings would pay off all its debt.
No debt5 years
Money in, money out
What Pearson sold, what it kept, and what it did with the cash.
Sales went from £3.84 billion in 2022 to £3.58 billion in 2025, with £335 million of profit last year.
SalesProfit
Pearson handed back 98% of the cash it generated last year.
Buybacks £352M£160M
Free cash flow 2025£522M
Bought back its own shares£352M
Paid as dividends£160M
Cash vs. debt£333M vs. £1.5B
Pearson vs. similar companies
Pearson grows in the middle of these 5 and is priced in the middle for its profits.
| Company | Profit from $100 of sales | Sales growth a year | Price per $1 of profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearson | 23.6× · Fair price | ||
 Informa | 1,096.5× · Very expensive | ||
 The New York Times | 33.8× · Expensive | ||
 Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & Media | 13.1× · Cheap | ||
 Kadokawa | 68.2× · Very expensive |
AI analysis
An AI analyst reads Pearson's last five years, its segments, earnings, insiders and peers, and writes the bull case, the bear case and what the price expects.
Run the AI analysisFull statementsIncome, balance sheet and cash flow, year by year
Income statement
| In millions of GBP | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,841 | 3,674 | 3,552 | 3,577 | |
| 1,795 | 1,835 | 1,811 | 1,860 | |
| 396 | 513 | 544 | 596 | |
| 1,010 | 1,097 | 1,115 | 1,103 | |
| 242 | 378 | 434 | 335 | |
| 0.33 | 0.53 | 0.64 | 0.51 | |
| 46.7% | 49.9% | 51.0% | 52.0% | |
| 10.3% | 14.0% | 15.3% | 16.7% | |
| 6.3% | 10.3% | 12.2% | 9.4% |
Balance sheet
| In millions of GBP | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | 7,324 | 6,727 | 6,892 | 6,458 |
| Cash | 558 | 312 | 543 | 333 |
| Total debt | 1,230 | 1,161 | 1,472 | 1,481 |
| Total liabilities | 2,909 | 2,739 | 2,839 | 2,795 |
| 4,402 | 3,974 | 4,038 | 3,648 | |
| 742 | 717 | 684 | 660 | |
| 5.5% | 8.5% | 8.4% | 8.2% | |
| 5.5% | 9.5% | 10.7% | 9.2% |
Cash flow
| In millions of GBP | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 361 | 525 | 627 | 656 | |
| 147 | 126 | 124 | 134 | |
| 214 | 399 | 503 | 522 | |
| Dividends paid | 156 | 154 | 156 | 160 |
| 390 | 186 | 318 | 352 | |
| 35 | 40 | 44 | 39 |
Valuation
- 23.6×
- 25.0×
- 1.49
- 2.1×
- 2.2×
- 15.2×
- 8.2×
- 6.6%
- 4.2%
- 2.0%
Profitability
- 52.0%
- 16.7%
- 9.4%
- 31.1%
- 8.4%
- 7.9%
- 9.3%
- 5.2%
- 9.6%
- –
Growth
- −2.3%
- +15.9%
- +28.5%
- +5.3%
- −3.8%
Financial health
- 1.0×
- 0.41
- 29.4%
- 7.1×
- 2.00
- 1.94
- 0.55
How it ranks in Communication Services
Each dot is where the company stands among every company over $300M in the sector. Further right is better.
Top 43%of 436
Top 38%of 438
Bottom 41%of 347
Bottom 15%of 440
Top 47%of 440
What analysts expect
- Average price target
- $14.50
- Range
- $11.00 – $18.00
These targets were collected on May 20, 2026 and our analyst feed has not updated since, so we no longer compare them with today's price.
Recent earnings
Our results feed has not updated since May 21, 2026. Results reported after that are not in this table yet.
| Date | EPS | Expected | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2026 | 0.53 | 0.52 | +1.1% |
| Feb 27, 2025 | 0.51 | 0.46 | +11.1% |
| Jul 29, 2024 | 0.29 | 0.30 | −3.1% |
| Apr 26, 2024 | 0.34 | 0.40 | −15.9% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 0.33 | 0.29 | +14.3% |
| Mar 3, 2023 | 0.19 | 0.34 | −44.6% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 0.21 | 0.18 | +17.1% |
| Mar 14, 2022 | 0.25 | 0.31 | −19.2% |
2.0%of the share price, paid each year
On $1,000 invested$20a year at today's yield, before tax
+5.3%2020 to 2025
Raised2 yearsin a row, in our data
Paid per share, each year
$0.81 in 2015 → $0.33 in 2025
How safe it looks
47.8% of its profit
Room to growStretchedMore than it earns: 30.7%
News
Key deals this week: SPGI, PSO, GEHC, and moreSeeking Alpha · Sep 20, 2026The newest story we have is from Sep 20, 2026.
Insider trades
Our insider feed has not updated since May 26, 2026. Trades filed after that are not listed yet.
No insider trades on file.
The seven classic investing rulebooks
2/7Passes 2 of 7. Each bar is how well the company fits that investor's published rules, from 0 to 100; 60 or more counts as a pass.
Warren Buffett
58No pass
Benjamin Graham
60Pass
Philip Fisher
62Pass
Peter Lynch
51No pass
Joel Greenblatt
29No pass
Charlie Munger
51No pass
Terry Smith
49No pass
Questions about Pearson
Is Pearson a good stock to buy?
A solid business at a fair price. 2 of the 7 famous investors' published rulebooks we apply pass it. Whether it suits you depends on your goals and the price you pay; invest-like never tells anyone to buy or sell. The AI analysis lays out the case for and against. Read the Pearson AI analysis
What does Pearson do?
Pearson plc provides educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. It is in Publishing, based in London, United Kingdom, with 13,665 employees.
Does Pearson pay a dividend?
Yes. At today's price the dividend is 2.0% a year, about 48% of its yearly profit. In 2025 it paid out $160 million in dividends.
Is Pearson stock halal?
Yes. Pearson passes our halal screen: its business is permitted and its debt is 19% of its market value, under the 30% limit. How we check
How has Pearson stock done over the past year?
Up 30.8% over the past twelve months, to $17.39. It traded between $12.06 and $18.39 and is 5.4% below its high.
Who are Pearson's competitors?
The largest listed companies in the same industry are Informa, The New York Times, Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & Media and Kadokawa. The peers table on this page compares their profit, growth and price with Pearson's.
Prices: daily closes to Nov 13, 2026. Fundamentals: company reports via invest-like data.