Pearson plc (PSON) Fair Value & Analysis
Communication Services · GB · Market cap 7.5B GBX
Fair value as of: Jul 19, 2026
From 24 valuation models · updated 19 days ago
Fair value updated Jul 19, 2026, revised from £11.43 to £10.96 (−4.1%) since Jun 24, 2026. Share price −3.1% over the past month.
A solid business, but screening 13% overvalued on our models.
What matters now
- A fairly wide model range (£7.57 to £14.35) leaves room in how you read the outcome.
- Our model range runs from £7.57 (bear) to £14.35 (bull), base £10.96. The closer the price sits to the lower half, the larger the margin of safety.
- Quality 72/100 (solid quality) with high evidence: the data supports the verdict.
Price vs Fair Value (5 years)
White line = price, green steps = our fair value per fiscal year, dashed = 300-day average. As of Jul 19, 2026.
How to read this chart
60‑month range £5.22 – £13.56 · fair‑value band £7.57 – £14.35 · the £12.56 price screens above the £10.96 fair value. Green steps = our fair value per fiscal year (point-in-time, no hindsight). Dashed = 300-day average. As of Jul 19, 2026.
Analysis
Pearson plc (PSON) currently trades at £12.56, while our model-based Fair Value estimate is £10.96, implying the stock looks roughly 12.7% overvalued today. We read business quality at 72/100 (solid quality), in the Communication Services sector. Bear case: priced above our estimate, the market already discounts strong expectations. Bull case: above-average quality can justify a premium, the entry price still matters most (evidence: high).
Over the trailing twelve months, Pearson plc generated revenue of £3.6B at a net margin of 9.4%. Revenue grew 3.2% year over year. It earns a return on equity of 8.7%. Net debt stands at £1.6B. Fundamentals as of Jul 19, 2026
Our scenario range runs from £7.57 (bear case) to £14.35 (bull case); at £12.56, the current price sits within that range. Bear and bull are the same models run on conservative and optimistic assumptions (margins, growth, valuation multiples), so a plausible valuation range, not a price target. For context, the median of 10 Communication Services peers we cover trades at 15% fair-value upside, at -13%, PSON screens richer than that median.
Fair Value models
Each model estimates fair value its own way; the Fair Value above is the evidence-weighted blend. Evidence (0–100) measures how completely this model’s inputs are available: well-fed models carry more weight in the blend. The spread across models is intentional, each one stresses a different value driver; dividend models, for instance, come out structurally low when payout is small.
All 24 models by family
Widest divergence: Growth DCF (£10.84) versus Dividend Discount (£2.69). Highest evidence: Growth DCF (80).
Key figures & financial health
More key figures
Figures from reported company fundamentals · as of Jul 19, 2026. TTM = trailing twelve months.
Quality Score breakdown
Of which business quality 71 · Market factors (momentum, volatility) 72
Non-valuation factor families (profitability, growth, cashflow, financial strength, momentum …), each academically grounded. Valuation itself sits in the Fair Value and is deliberately excluded here to avoid double-counting.
About the company
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 operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Enterprise Learning & Skills, and Higher Education.
Full company description
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 operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Enterprise Learning & Skills, and Higher Education. The Assessment & Qualifications segment offers pearson professional assessments, US student assessment, clinical assessment, UK GCSE, and A levels and international academic qualifications and associated courseware, including the English-speaking Canadian and Australian K-12 businesses, and PDR. The Virtual Learning segment provides virtual schools and online program management. The English Language Learning segment offers Pearson test of English, institutional courseware, and English online solutions. The Enterprise Learning & Skills segment provides vocational qualifications, GED, TalentLens, Faethm, Credly, Pearson College, and Enterprise content and training. The Higher Education segment engages in the US, Canadian, and international higher education courseware businesses. Pearson plc was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Company description, as reported by the company or data provider.
Revenue & earnings trend
FY2021 – FY2025 · reported fiscal years
Pearson plc reported revenue of £3.6B in FY2025 versus £3.4B in FY2021, a compound +1.1%/yr. Reported net income was £335M in FY2025, compounding +17.3%/yr from FY2021.
PSON screens 13% overvalued. Compare with The New York Times Company →
Earlier news
External third-party headlines (Yahoo Finance, Reuters and others), not an editorial selection.
- New Pearson and AWS Research: The U.S. Helped Build the AI Economy. The Next Opportunity is Preparing Graduates to Thrive in it
- Pearson’s Energy-Sector Push Adds Workforce Edge to Virtual Schooling
- Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of Pearson plc (LON:PSON)
- Pearson (PSO) Reports Solid Q3; JPMorgan Lifts Price Target to 1,330 GBp
Peer Group
Publishing · 108 stocks
How this stock ranks against its industry: the green marker is this stock, the band is the typical 25–75% peer range, and the tick is the median.
Valuation Multiples vs Publishing median · lower = cheaper
Snowflake
Five quick dimensions, each 0 to 100: VALUE (fair-value potential), FUTURE (revenue growth), PAST (return on equity), HEALTH (low debt), DIVIDEND (yield). Green = this stock, grey = typical sector peer.
Insider activity: 40/100
Values & ESG
Does this company touch areas you may want to avoid? The classification is inferred from sector and industry.
ESG scores are not available for this stock yet. Values and ESG data are contextual and can differ between providers.
Similar stocks
10 more Publishing stocks, each showing price versus our Fair Value estimate (as of Jul 19, 2026).
| Stock | Price | Fair Value | vs Fair Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| The New York Times Company NYT | $76.71 | $41.95 | -45% |
| Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & Media Corporation 601928 | ¥9.16 | ¥11.50 | +26% |
| China South Publishing & Media Group 601098 | ¥10.36 | ¥16.76 | +62% |
| People.cn CO., LTD 603000 | ¥14.71 | ¥4.23 | -71% |
| Zhejiang Publishing & Media Co 601921 | ¥7.12 | ¥7.73 | +9% |
| John Wiley & Sons, Inc WLY | $49.51 | $57.01 | +15% |
| China Science Publishing & Media Ltd 601858 | ¥16.80 | ¥10.41 | -38% |
| Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media Co 601811 | ¥11.46 | ¥20.47 | +79% |
| Shandong Publishing&Media Co 601019 | ¥6.98 | ¥11.60 | +66% |
| Guangdong Guangzhou Daily Media Co 002181 | ¥7.61 | ¥1.35 | -82% |
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How we calculate Fair Value
Each company is valued through a stack of independent intrinsic-value models (DCF variants, residual-income, multiples and more), blended into one family-balanced consensus and weighted by how much trustworthy data backs it. A separate quality layer scores the fundamentals. Every input is real reported data, nothing guessed.
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