26 May 2026

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Pearson PLC (PSON)

Rank #15 of 100 - Consumer Cyclicals - UK Equities

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Pearson PLC

PSON.L·Consumer Cyclicals·Market Cap £6.8b

Rank #15 of 100

Data from Excel Model · 100 Stocks Analysed

£11.22

+7.48% YTD

Target: £11.81(+5.3%)

52W: £8.75 - £12.25

Score Analysis

Pearson PLC is ranked #15 out of 100 UK stocks. Lower factor scores indicate better performance in that category.

Factor Breakdown

41/100

Average Score

Liquidity

Excellent11/100

Valuation

Weak66/100

Profitability

Good28/100

Solvency

Good32/100

Asset Efficiency

Good30/100

Mkt Trading

Weak89/100

Technical

Good29/100

1. Valuation

Score: 66/100

Is PSON undervalued compared to its peers and fair value metrics?

1/5

valuation criteria met

✗

FY26e P/E Ratio

16.1xRank 64/100

✗

FY27e P/E Ratio

14.5xRank 66/100

✓

Price-to-Book

1.83xRank 38/100

✗

Price-to-Tangible Book

10.45xRank 58/100

✗

EV/EBITDA

9.7xRank 42/100

Key Valuation Metrics

Current P/E

22.2x

Price-to-Earnings

FY26e P/E

16.1x

Forward estimate

FY27e P/E

14.5x

Forward estimate

P/B Ratio

1.83x

Price-to-Book

P/TBV

10.45x

Price-to-Tangible Book

EV/EBITDA

9.7x

Enterprise Value

FY26e EV/EBITDA

9.1x

Forward estimate

FY27e EV/EBITDA

9.1x

Forward estimate

Analyst Consensus Target

Current Price

£11.22

Consensus Target

£11.81

Potential

+5.3%

Target

Bloomberg Median Target: £11.30

2. Profitability

Score: 28/100

How profitable is PSON relative to its peers?

2/6

profitability criteria met

✓

TTM Profit Margin

9.4%Rank 37/100

–

Current ROE

8.7%

–

Current ROA

N/A

✓

FY26e EPS

0.77Rank 40/100

–

TTM EPS

0.73

–

Net Income Growth

N/A

Profit Margin

9.4%

ROE

8.7%

FY27e ROE

11.9%

ROA

N/A

Earnings Per Share

3. Financial Health

Score: 32/100

How strong is PSON's balance sheet and financial position?

0/4

solvency criteria met

–

Debt-to-Equity

40.4%

–

Interest Coverage

N/A

✗

Debt/EBITDA

Rank 59Rank 59/100

–

Altman Z-Score

2.62

Key Health Metrics

Quick Ratio

1.94

Healthy

Cash Ratio

2.00

Debt/Equity

40%

FCF Margin

0.8%

Altman Z-Score

2.62

Grey Zone

01.812.995+

4. Asset Efficiency

Score: 30/100

How efficiently does PSON deploy its assets and intellectual capital?

0/2

asset efficiency criteria met

–

Intangible/Asset

Intangible assets as a proportion of total assets — lower indicates more tangible, capital-efficient operations

N/A

–

R&D/Sales

Research & development spend relative to revenue — balanced R&D investment signals sustainable growth

N/A

Overall Asset Efficiency Rank

Rank within sector peers#30/100

Best (1)Worst (100)

What This Measures

Intangible/Asset — a lower ratio suggests the company's value is backed by tangible assets rather than goodwill or intangibles, reducing balance sheet risk.

R&D/Sales — captures the proportion of revenue reinvested into research and development, indicating innovation intensity and future growth investment.