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U.K. (FTSE) Application Software Industry Analysis

UpdatedApr 07, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies47
  • 7D3.3%
  • 3M-19.0%
  • 1Y-20.2%
  • YTDn/a

The Application Software industry is up 5.4% in the last week, with Sage Group up 3.2%. In contrast, the industry has lost 25% in the last 12 months. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 15% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.K. Application Software Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Tue, 07 Apr 2026UK£12.3bUK£4.4bUK£454.3m26.4x27x2.8x
Thu, 05 Mar 2026UK£12.6bUK£4.4bUK£455.6m30.1x27.7x2.9x
Sat, 31 Jan 2026UK£14.7bUK£4.4bUK£453.3m33.7x32.4x3.3x
Mon, 29 Dec 2025UK£15.6bUK£4.4bUK£445.6m33x34.9x3.5x
Wed, 26 Nov 2025UK£15.8bUK£4.4bUK£470.2m29.2x33.6x3.6x
Fri, 24 Oct 2025UK£16.6bUK£4.3bUK£452.3m31.8x36.7x3.8x
Sun, 21 Sep 2025UK£16.2bUK£4.3bUK£456.1m31.6x35.6x3.8x
Tue, 19 Aug 2025UK£16.0bUK£4.3bUK£447.2m32.4x35.9x3.7x
Thu, 17 Jul 2025UK£18.0bUK£4.4bUK£408.9m34.2x43.9x4.1x
Sat, 14 Jun 2025UK£18.6bUK£4.4bUK£423.4m32.6x44.1x4.3x
Mon, 12 May 2025UK£18.9bUK£4.4bUK£391.2m30.5x48.3x4.3x
Wed, 09 Apr 2025UK£16.6bUK£4.4bUK£389.2m26.2x42.6x3.7x
Fri, 07 Mar 2025UK£18.1bUK£4.5bUK£338.1m28.5x53.6x4.1x
Sun, 02 Feb 2025UK£19.9bUK£4.5bUK£332.0m30.2x59.8x4.4x
Tue, 31 Dec 2024UK£19.4bUK£4.4bUK£329.2m32.9x58.9x4.4x
Thu, 28 Nov 2024UK£19.7bUK£4.4bUK£348.1m33.5x56.7x4.4x
Sat, 26 Oct 2024UK£16.5bUK£4.3bUK£237.2m32.2x69.7x3.8x
Mon, 23 Sep 2024UK£17.0bUK£4.4bUK£221.5m37x76.6x3.9x
Wed, 21 Aug 2024UK£17.2bUK£4.4bUK£209.8m36.9x81.8x3.9x
Fri, 19 Jul 2024UK£17.4bUK£4.4bUK£211.5m37.1x82x3.9x
Sun, 16 Jun 2024UK£17.6bUK£4.5bUK£220.6m41x79.8x3.9x
Tue, 14 May 2024UK£18.7bUK£4.4bUK£64.5m38.4x290.2x4.3x
Thu, 11 Apr 2024UK£18.2bUK£4.4bUK£28.5m39.4x640.1x4.2x
Sat, 09 Mar 2024UK£18.8bUK£4.4bUK£68.2m34.9x275.3x4.3x
Mon, 05 Feb 2024UK£30.1bUK£7.9b-UK£225,088,381.0037x-133.5x3.8x
Wed, 03 Jan 2024UK£29.9bUK£7.9b-UK£224,948,833.0035.2x-133.1x3.8x
Fri, 01 Dec 2023UK£29.0bUK£7.9b-UK£213,051,130.0030x-136x3.6x
Sun, 29 Oct 2023UK£26.9bUK£7.9b-UK£169,411,542.0030.8x-158.6x3.4x
Tue, 26 Sep 2023UK£27.9bUK£7.8b-UK£165,141,436.0032.5x-169.2x3.6x
Thu, 24 Aug 2023UK£27.3bUK£7.8b-UK£167,428,168.0028.5x-162.8x3.5x
Sat, 22 Jul 2023UK£28.1bUK£8.4b-UK£146,880,470.0030.4x-191.6x3.4x
Mon, 19 Jun 2023UK£28.1bUK£8.4b-UK£145,529,450.0032.1x-192.9x3.4x
Wed, 17 May 2023UK£27.1bUK£8.5b-UK£162,137,715.0032.2x-167.1x3.2x
Fri, 14 Apr 2023UK£26.9bUK£8.4bUK£13.6m37.6x1987.3x3.2x
Price to Earnings Ratio

1987.3x


Total Market Cap: UK£26.9bTotal Earnings: UK£13.6mTotal Revenue: UK£8.4bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Application Software Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 54.3x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the British Application Software industry, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates will be lower than they have historically.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 27.0x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 56.3x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 3.8x is higher than the industry's current PS ratio of 2.8x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Application Software industry have grown 228% per year over the last three years.
  • Meanwhile revenues for these companies have declined 19% per year.
  • This means that less sales are being generated overall, but since cost of doing business is lower, profits have been increasing.

Industry Comparison

How does U.K. Application Software compare with similar industries?

GB Market3.10%
Tech4.79%
Software3.31%
Application Software3.35%
Systems Software-1.62%
Industry PEThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.
Forecasted GrowthThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
SGE Sage GroupUK£8.542.0%
+UK£125.2m		-24.7%PE21.3x
BYIT Bytes Technology GroupUK£2.873.7%
+UK£24.1m		-38.2%PE12.7x
CER CerillionUK£13.505.1%
+UK£19.2m		-1.5%PE24x
AOM ActiveOpsUK£1.9614.0%
+UK£17.1m		134.7%PS3.8x
ALFA Alfa Financial Software HoldingsUK£1.481.9%
+UK£8.3m		-26.5%PE14.6x

Latest News

BGO
UK£0.60
Bango
7D
-4.0%
1Y
-19.5%
SKL
UK£0.53
Skillcast Group
7D
-5.4%
1Y
50.0%
DOTD
UK£0.45
dotdigital Group
7D
-2.3%
1Y
-31.3%

DOTD: Future Margin Delivery And Cash Generation Will Support A Rerating

Analysts have nudged their price target on dotdigital Group slightly higher to £X from £Y. This reflects small adjustments to the discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and forward P/E assumptions.
GBG
UK£2.03
GB Group
7D
1.0%
1Y
-17.8%

GBG: Slightly Improved Assumptions Will Support Confidence In Future Earnings Potential

Analysts have nudged their price target on GB Group slightly higher to £X.X, reflecting small adjustments to assumptions around the discount rate, revenue growth, profit margins and future P/E, while keeping estimated fair value broadly unchanged at £4.50. Valuation Changes Fair Value: kept unchanged at £4.50, indicating no shift in the central valuation anchor.
SGE
UK£8.54
Sage Group
7D
2.0%
1Y
-24.7%

SGE: Mixed Research Views And Partnerships Will Shape Future Upside Potential

Analysts have reduced Sage Group's fair value estimate from £9.50 to £9.00. This reflects recent price target revisions from £14.00 to £11.50, along with mixed updates that balance slightly adjusted growth, margin and future P/E assumptions.
BYIT
UK£2.87
Bytes Technology Group
7D
3.7%
1Y
-38.2%

BYIT: Capital Light Cash Generation Will Underpin Extended Recovery Story

Analysts have reduced their fair value estimate for Bytes Technology Group from £6.38 to £4.70. This reflects a lower assumed future P/E and softer projected revenue growth, along with the view that the company’s recovery timeline is taking longer than previously expected.
CER
UK£13.50
Cerillion
7D
5.1%
1Y
-1.5%
ACSO
UK£2.45
accesso Technology Group
7D
-1.2%
1Y
-40.2%
QTX
UK£2.23
Quartix Technologies
7D
5.7%
1Y
2.3%

QTX: Shares Will Rise As Dividend Simplification And Audit Progress Support Upside

Analysts have nudged their price target on Quartix Technologies slightly higher to £3.60. The change reflects updated assumptions for discount rates, revenue growth, profit margins and a modestly higher future P/E multiple.
AOM
UK£1.96
ActiveOps
7D
14.0%
1Y
134.7%

AOM: Stable Assumptions Will Support Future Upside To £100 Million ARR

Analysts have kept their fair value estimate for ActiveOps steady at £3.17, with only marginal tweaks to the discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and future P/E assumptions supporting a largely unchanged price target outlook. Valuation Changes Fair Value: Held steady at £3.17, with no change to the headline estimate.
PINE
UK£2.08
Pinewood Technologies Group
7D
-0.2%
1Y
-32.7%

PINE: AI Execution And Broken Deal Dislocation Will Drive Future Upside

Analysts have trimmed their fair value estimate for Pinewood Technologies Group, with the implied analyst price target moving from about £7.59 to around £6.54 as they adopt a lower comparator-based multiple, while still describing material upside potential following the recent £5.50 target and Buy rating from Jefferies. Analyst Commentary Recent commentary has focused on how the broken deal backdrop and AI concerns intersect with Pinewood Technologies Group’s growth plans and current valuation.
ELCO
UK£1.12
Eleco
7D
4.2%
1Y
-0.4%
ALFA
UK£1.48
Alfa Financial Software Holdings
7D
1.9%
1Y
-26.5%
PEB
UK£0.17
Pebble Beach Systems Group
7D
-2.9%
1Y
183.3%
IDOX
UK£0.70
IDOX
7D
-0.3%
1Y
32.1%
PULS
UK£0.44
Pulsar Group
7D
-1.1%
1Y
3.5%