PSON.L

Pearson plc

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, Ente… 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.
Market price
GBP 12.81
Within modeled range
Base value (DCF (trailing free cash flow)) is 2.1% above the market price
Data: Price updated 06 Nov 2026 14:48; FY2025, period ended 31 Dec 2025 from EODHD (downloaded 4 min ago).
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Verdict

Priced within the modelled range

PriceGBP 12.81
Fair value range7.66–23.51base 13.08
Estimate reliabilityLow
5-year outlook–

5-year outlook: Not shown because confidence is low: Earnings-based DCF disagrees strongly.

Why: Free cash flow is positive and in line with earnings, and the dividend is small, so a cash-flow DCF fits best.

Start with the price and fair value range, then review the data dates and assumptions below. Estimates are not predictions or investment advice.

DCF (trailing free cash flow)

Market price within modeled range

Showing the DCF (trailing free cash flow) you selected on the company card, using 4.7% growth, 2.9% terminal growth and 10.4% discount. The range varies these assumptions slightly; it is illustrative, not investment advice.

Assumptions: growth 4.70%, discount rate 10.40%, terminal growth 2.90% (sector defaults). See a worked example.

Blended growth assumption: 4.7% (sector default 7.0%, own revenue history 1.1%, analyst revenue consensus 5.4%).

Analyst consensus expects revenue growth of 5.4% a year; the growth assumption used is 4.7%.

Adjust assumptions

Show the recommended model instead

Why this model: Free cash flow is positive and in line with earnings, and the dividend is small, so a cash-flow DCF fits best.

Compare models
  • Recommended: Free-cash-flow DCF — GBP 13.08 (+2.1%)
  • EPS-based Gordon proxy — GBP 6.96 (-45.7%)
    Not used: Treats all earnings as if paid out and ignores the cash kept for reinvestment, so it overstates value for companies that retain most profit.
  • DCF (trailing free cash flow) — GBP 13.08 (+2.1%)
    Not used: Not chosen: Free-cash-flow DCF ranks ahead of it for this company.
  • FCFF (steady state) — GBP 12.00 (-6.4%)
    Not used: Assumes only the long-run terminal growth rate from today, so it ignores the near-term growth expected.
  • EV/EBITDA (12x) — GBP 18.74 (+46.3%)
    Not used: Used only when free cash flow is far below earnings even after averaging three years; a fixed 12x multiple also ignores sector differences.
  • Fade DCF (10-year growth fade) — GBP 13.04 (+1.8%)
    Not used: An alternative growth path (fading over 10 years) shown for comparison; the automatic choice does not use it.
  • EV/Sales (Rule of 40) — GBP 37.49 (+192.7%)
    Not used: Used only when cash-flow models land far below the price; here they do not.
Illustrative range / share GBP 7.66–23.51
Base scenario / share GBP 13.08
Margin of safety (share of value) Margin of safety vs base case
Bear GBP 7.66-67.3%
Base GBP 13.082.1%
Bull GBP 23.5145.5%

Margin = (value − price) / value, so it is measured against the value and reads lower than the upside to value, which is measured against the price. Positive means the price is below that case.

Track record: see the methodology page for how this model has performed historically, including its limits. Treat it as a screen, not a forecast.

Price history and fair value

No chartable saved daily price history is available for this range. The chart uses stored EODHD prices only and will appear after history is saved.

Latest news

Headlines provided by EODHD. Articles may mention multiple companies and are not investment recommendations.

More detail: quality, peers, price history, dividends and financials

Quality score: 92 / 100

Five equal checks on reported history: profitability, cash generation, revenue growth, balance sheet and margins. It describes business quality, not whether the price is attractive.

Profitability5 of 5 years profitable20 / 20
Cash generationfree cash flow positive in 5 of 5 years20 / 20
Growthrevenue +1.1% a year12 / 20
Balance sheetnet debt 1.0x EBITDA20 / 20
MarginsEBITDA margin 32%20 / 20

Peers in Communication Services

Same-sector companies with a valuation, most undervalued first. Compare the margin of safety, yield and quality score side by side.

CompanyPriceMargin of safetyP/EP/BYieldQuality
PSON.L (this company) GBP 12.81 2.1% 25.2 2.3 1.9% 92
VOD.L Vodafone Group Public Limited Company GBP 1.14 43.5% – 0.6 3.3% 66
PUB.PA Publicis Groupe S.A. EUR 102.40 42.1% 15.7 2.5 3.5% 90
CMCSA Comcast USD 24.23 40.8% 7.6 0.9 5.6% 82
TEF.MC Telefonica, S.A. EUR 3.34 34.2% – – 9.0% 59
INF.L Informa plc GBP 8.40 23.0% – 1.9 2.4% 66
SONY Sony Group Corporation USD 26.66 22.1% – – – 82
EMBRAC-B.ST Embracer Group AB SEK 95.20 18.7% – 1.0 – 56
GOOG Alphabet Inc. (Class C) USD 286.13 10.4% 15.0 5.2 0.3% 100
Peer median 15.0 1.5

Dividends

Paid in the last 12 months: GBP 0.00 per share · yield 0.02% at the current price.

YearDividends per share
2026 (so far)0.003
20250.002
20240.002
20230.002
20220.002
20210.002
Sector Communication Services
Exchange London Stock Exchange
Currency GBP

Annual financial statement

Saved annual report · Fiscal year 2025 · EODHD annual statements · period ended 31 Dec 2025

RevenueGBP 3,577,000,000
EBITDAGBP 1,127,000,000
EBITGBP 632,000,000
Net incomeGBP 335,000,000
Free cash flowGBP 661,000,000
Capital expendituresGBP 29,000,000
DebtGBP 1,481,000,000
CashGBP 333,000,000
Working capitalGBP 1,159,000,000
Shares outstanding660,300,000
Reported dividends per shareGBP 0.2423