Investing IdeasBrowse All StocksMarkets
Have your own idea? Try our Stock Screener
Header cover image

U.K. (FTSE) Software Industry Analysis

UpdatedFeb 23, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies49
  • 7D-0.7%
  • 3M-19.0%
  • 1Y-30.8%
  • YTD-15.9%

The Software is pretty flat in the last 7 days, but Pinewood Technologies Group has stood out, gaining 4.4%. Unfortunately though, the industry is down 31% over the past 12 months. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 17% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

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

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Tue, 24 Feb 2026UK£12.7bUK£4.5bUK£432.1m31.1x29.5x2.8x
Thu, 22 Jan 2026UK£15.1bUK£4.5bUK£430.4m33.3x35.1x3.4x
Sat, 20 Dec 2025UK£15.7bUK£4.5bUK£421.9m32.8x37.2x3.5x
Mon, 17 Nov 2025UK£15.9bUK£4.4bUK£430.1m33.8x36.9x3.6x
Wed, 15 Oct 2025UK£16.5bUK£4.4bUK£436.2m31.1x37.9x3.8x
Fri, 12 Sep 2025UK£16.2bUK£4.4bUK£439.5m37.6x36.7x3.7x
Sun, 10 Aug 2025UK£16.8bUK£4.4bUK£430.2m35.7x39.1x3.9x
Tue, 08 Jul 2025UK£18.0bUK£4.7bUK£391.8m36.9x45.8x3.8x
Thu, 05 Jun 2025UK£18.7bUK£4.7bUK£400.4m34.2x46.7x4x
Sat, 03 May 2025UK£18.8bUK£4.8bUK£371.4m31x50.7x4x
Mon, 31 Mar 2025UK£18.2bUK£4.8bUK£366.5m29x49.6x3.8x
Wed, 26 Feb 2025UK£19.0bUK£4.8bUK£307.1m31.8x61.9x4x
Fri, 24 Jan 2025UK£19.9bUK£4.8bUK£305.2m28.9x65.2x4.2x
Sun, 22 Dec 2024UK£19.5bUK£4.8bUK£303.5m33.5x64.4x4.1x
Tue, 19 Nov 2024UK£17.7bUK£4.7bUK£210.7m35.7x84x3.8x
Thu, 17 Oct 2024UK£16.7bUK£4.7bUK£208.7m32.8x80x3.6x
Sat, 14 Sep 2024UK£20.9bUK£5.2bUK£278.0m36.2x75.3x4.1x
Mon, 12 Aug 2024UK£20.8bUK£5.3bUK£258.2m37.2x80.7x4x
Wed, 10 Jul 2024UK£21.7bUK£5.3bUK£262.9m38.1x82.6x4.1x
Fri, 07 Jun 2024UK£21.8bUK£5.3bUK£163.0m41.2x133.6x4.1x
Sun, 05 May 2024UK£22.6bUK£5.2bUK£107.3m37.5x210.7x4.3x
Tue, 02 Apr 2024UK£21.9bUK£5.2bUK£77.9m37.6x281.4x4.2x
Thu, 29 Feb 2024UK£21.1bUK£5.2bUK£66.0m37.2x319.3x4.1x
Sat, 27 Jan 2024UK£42.6bUK£10.2bUK£70.9m38.1x601.3x4.2x
Mon, 25 Dec 2023UK£42.4bUK£10.1bUK£72.1m36.9x588.1x4.2x
Wed, 22 Nov 2023UK£40.0bUK£10.1bUK£133.4m32.7x300.1x4x
Fri, 20 Oct 2023UK£39.7bUK£10.1bUK£130.0m30.9x305.6x3.9x
Sun, 17 Sep 2023UK£40.9bUK£10.0bUK£137.1m34.4x298.7x4.1x
Tue, 15 Aug 2023UK£40.0bUK£10.0bUK£97.5m35.6x410.6x4x
Thu, 13 Jul 2023UK£40.8bUK£10.6bUK£128.6m35.6x317.1x3.9x
Sat, 10 Jun 2023UK£40.6bUK£10.5bUK£251.5m37.7x161.5x3.9x
Mon, 08 May 2023UK£40.1bUK£10.7bUK£109.7m36.1x365.6x3.8x
Wed, 05 Apr 2023UK£39.3bUK£10.6bUK£299.3m35.8x131.3x3.7x
Fri, 03 Mar 2023UK£39.6bUK£10.4bUK£298.7m35.5x132.5x3.8x
Price to Earnings Ratio

132.5x


Total Market Cap: UK£39.6bTotal Earnings: UK£298.7mTotal Revenue: UK£10.4bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Software Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 178x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the British 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 29.5x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 178x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 3.9x is higher than the industry's current PS ratio of 2.8x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Software industry have grown 13% per year over the last three years.
  • Meanwhile revenues for these companies have declined 24% per year.
  • This means that less sales are being generated overall, but since cost of doing business is lower, profits have been increasing.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.K. Tech industry?

GB Market1.88%
Tech1.32%
Software-0.68%
Systems Software-0.64%
Application Software-0.68%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Application Software industry even though it's trading below its 3-year average PE ratio of 87.4x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 16.3%, which is higher than its past year's earnings growth of 7.7% per year.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Systems Software industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 62% over the next 5 years.
  • In contrast, the Application Software industry is expected to see its earnings grow by 16% per year over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

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

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
PINE Pinewood Technologies GroupUK£3.074.4%
+UK£15.0m		-11.0%PE56.8x
BYIT Bytes Technology GroupUK£2.901.5%
+UK£10.4m		-34.1%PE12.8x
ALFA Alfa Financial Software HoldingsUK£1.851.4%
+UK£7.7m		-22.8%PE18.6x
PULS Pulsar GroupUK£0.475.7%
+UK£3.4m		-2.1%PS1x
ACSO accesso Technology GroupUK£2.702.3%
+UK£2.2m		-45.1%PE13.3x

Latest News

APTD
UK£2.31
Aptitude Software Group
7D
-3.3%
1Y
-27.6%
QTX
UK£2.75
Quartix Technologies
7D
-6.8%
1Y
83.3%
PULS
UK£0.47
Pulsar Group
7D
5.7%
1Y
-2.1%
PINE
UK£3.07
Pinewood Technologies Group
7D
4.4%
1Y
-11.0%

AI-Focused Dealership Systems Face Execution Risks Yet May Ultimately Reward Patience

Catalysts About Pinewood Technologies Group Pinewood Technologies Group provides automotive retail software and AI driven tools to dealer groups across multiple regions, including the U.K., Europe, Japan, South Africa and North America. What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
SGE
UK£7.84
Sage Group
7D
-0.6%
1Y
-38.9%

SGE: Embedded Banking Partnerships Will Support Further Share Price Upside

The analyst price target for Sage Group has been adjusted to £1,250 from £1,350, as analysts refine fair value, discount rate, growth, margin and P/E assumptions in light of recent mixed research that includes both upgrades and a reduced target. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Sage Group reflects a mix of optimism on growth prospects and caution on valuation and execution, which helps explain the adjustment in the consensus price target.
GBG
UK£1.92
GB Group
7D
-4.4%
1Y
-42.7%
ALFA
UK£1.85
Alfa Financial Software Holdings
7D
1.4%
1Y
-22.8%
AOM
UK£2.62
ActiveOps
7D
-4.0%
1Y
147.2%

AOM: Scalable Model And Decision Intelligence Will Support £100 Million ARR

Analysts have left their price target for ActiveOps unchanged at £3.17, citing only small tweaks to assumptions on discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and future P/E, rather than any shift in their core view of the company. Valuation Changes Fair Value: Fair value estimate remains unchanged at £3.17 per share.
DSG
UK£0.12
Dillistone Group
7D
19.5%
1Y
53.1%
ACSO
UK£2.70
accesso Technology Group
7D
2.3%
1Y
-45.1%
NET
UK£1.19
Netcall
7D
-5.6%
1Y
6.3%
CER
UK£15.40
Cerillion
7D
-4.9%
1Y
-8.1%

Cerillion Plc's (LON:CER) 26% Share Price Surge Not Quite Adding Up

Jan 20
Cerillion Plc's (LON:CER) 26% Share Price Surge Not Quite Adding Up
ADVT
UK£1.56
AdvancedAdvT
7D
0.6%
1Y
-5.5%
DOTD
UK£0.58
dotdigital Group
7D
-5.6%
1Y
-33.3%
PEG
UK£0.12
Petards Group
7D
11.9%
1Y
42.4%

Further Upside For Petards Group plc (LON:PEG) Shares Could Introduce Price Risks After 38% Bounce

Dec 03
Further Upside For Petards Group plc (LON:PEG) Shares Could Introduce Price Risks After 38% Bounce
BYIT
UK£2.90
Bytes Technology Group
7D
1.5%
1Y
-34.1%