Pearson plc

LSE:PSON Stock Report

Market Cap: UK£6.6b

Pearson Future Growth

Future criteria checks 1/6

Pearson is forecast to grow earnings and revenue by 8.9% and 4.4% per annum respectively. EPS is expected to grow by 11.2% per annum. Return on equity is forecast to be 13.5% in 3 years.

Key information

8.9%

Earnings growth rate

11.24%

EPS growth rate

Consumer Services earnings growth15.3%
Revenue growth rate4.4%
Future return on equity13.55%
Analyst coverage

Good

Last updated08 May 2026

Recent future growth updates

Recent updates

Narrative Update Apr 26

PSON: AI Partnership And Buybacks Will Support Steady Cash Flow Profile

The updated analyst price target for Pearson edges higher to about £11.70, with analysts pointing to modest tweaks in revenue growth, profit margin and P/E assumptions, as well as mixed recent Street targets that reflect both model refinements and shifts to peer group valuation multiples. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research on Pearson points to mixed but generally constructive views around valuation, execution and forecast assumptions, with small price target moves reflecting tweaks to models rather than wholesale shifts in conviction.
Narrative Update Apr 08

PSON: AI Partnerships And Buybacks Will Support Future Cash Flow Resilience

Analysts have trimmed Pearson's average price target, with recent cuts to about £13.90 and £11.20 per share. These changes reflect closer alignment of valuation multiples with media peers and slightly softer outer year revenue assumptions, even as profit forecasts stay broadly intact.
Narrative Update Mar 25

PSON: AI Partnerships And Buybacks Will Support Future Earnings Resilience

Analysts have trimmed Pearson's aggregated price target, with moves such as BofA cutting to £13.90 from £15.70 and several peers nudging targets slightly lower. The changes mainly reflect alignment with sector peer multiples and modestly reduced outer year revenue assumptions, while profit expectations are left broadly intact.
Narrative Update Mar 11

PSON: AI Partnerships And Buyback Programme Will Support Future Upside

Analysts have lowered their Pearson price targets, with several reductions bringing the average implied value closer to peers at around £13.90. They have adjusted revenue assumptions slightly while keeping profit expectations broadly steady and are applying lower P/E multiples in line with the wider media group.
New Narrative Feb 27

AI Skilling Demand And Assessments Will Support Stable Margins And Fairly Priced Shares

Catalysts About Pearson Pearson is a global education company focused on assessments, virtual schools, higher education courseware and workforce skills. What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
Narrative Update Feb 25

PSON: AI Partnerships And Recent Buy Rating Will Support Future Upside

Analysts have fine tuned their Pearson views, with recent Street research showing price targets adjusted around £14.20 and £13.00 as they factor in updated P/E assumptions and reassess how artificial intelligence risks are reflected in the share price. Analyst Commentary Bullish Takeaways Bullish analysts are comfortable maintaining an Overweight stance, even as JPMorgan trims its price target to £14.20 from £14.40, which still implies room for upside based on their current assumptions.
Narrative Update Feb 10

PSON: AI Partnerships And Fresh Buy Ratings Will Support Future Upside

Narrative Update on Pearson Analysts have trimmed their Pearson price target by £0.20 to £14.20, reflecting slightly higher discount-rate assumptions and fine tuning to margin and P/E inputs, with recent research highlighting a mix of cautious target adjustments and fresh Buy initiations on what some see as an attractive risk/reward setup around AI concerns. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Pearson presents a mix of optimism and caution, with target tweaks and new coverage reflecting different views on how the shares price in AI related risks and execution on growth plans.
Narrative Update Jan 27

PSON: AI Partnerships And Recent Upgrades Will Support Future Upside

Analysts have trimmed their fair value estimate for Pearson from £12.45 to about £12.07, citing slightly lower margin expectations. This comes even as assumptions for revenue growth and future P/E move higher, supported by a mix of recent target cuts and fresh Buy or upgrade calls from major banks.
New Narrative Jan 24

AI Skilling And Assessments Will Drive Long Term Value For This Education Leader

Catalysts About Pearson Pearson is a global education company focused on assessments, qualifications and learning services across schools, higher education, English language learning and workforce skills. What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
Analysis Article Jan 23

Pearson (LON:PSON) Is Looking To Continue Growing Its Returns On Capital

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? In a...
Narrative Update Jan 11

PSON: AI Partnerships And Global Education Demand Will Support Future Upside

The updated analyst price target for Pearson, now set around £12.45 from £12.51, reflects small refinements to assumptions on discount rate, revenue growth and profit margins, as analysts weigh a higher Street target of £13.30 alongside views that the shares are fairly valued for a mid single digit growth profile. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research gives you a split view on Pearson, with some focusing on upside as the shares track higher targets and others stressing that the current price already reflects a mid single digit growth profile.
Analysis Article Jan 03

Does Pearson (LON:PSON) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to...
Narrative Update Dec 27

PSON: AI Partnerships Will Drive Long Term Global Education Upside

Analysts have nudged our Pearson price target slightly higher to £13.30 from £13.10, reflecting confidence in the company’s steady mid single digit growth prospects and solid positioning in the global education market, even as its current valuation is viewed as broadly fair. Analyst Commentary Bullish analysts highlight Pearson's improving fundamentals and consistent execution against its strategic priorities, which have supported the modest upward revision in the price target.
Analysis Article Dec 16

We Think Pearson (LON:PSON) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of...
Narrative Update Dec 12

PSON: Global Education Demand Will Drive Long Term Performance And Upside

The analyst price target for Pearson has edged higher to approximately £12.51 from £12.49 as analysts cite slightly stronger long term revenue growth expectations and a modestly higher valuation multiple, despite a largely unchanged margin and risk outlook. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research on Pearson reflects a balanced mix of optimism around growth prospects and caution on valuation, leading to a modest upward drift in price targets rather than a wholesale change in sentiment.
Narrative Update Nov 28

PSON: Global Education Demand And New Partnerships Will Drive Strong Performance

Analysts have increased their price target for Pearson by £0.20 to £13.30. They cite continued growth prospects in global education, balanced by what they view as a fair valuation for the shares.
Narrative Update Nov 14

PSON: Global Education Demand Will Support Share Price Momentum

The analyst price target for Pearson has recently been raised slightly, increasing by £0.20 to £13.30. Analysts cite confidence in the company's margins and continued presence in the global education market, despite modestly slower growth expectations.
Analysis Article Oct 30

Pearson plc's (LON:PSON) Business Is Yet to Catch Up With Its Share Price

It's not a stretch to say that Pearson plc's ( LON:PSON ) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 15.8x right now seems...
Analysis Article Oct 13

Is There An Opportunity With Pearson plc's (LON:PSON) 21% Undervaluation?

Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Pearson fair value estimate is UK£13.38 Pearson's UK£10.52...
Analysis Article Sep 30

Here's Why Pearson (LON:PSON) Has Caught The Eye Of Investors

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story...
Analysis Article Sep 09

Pearson (LON:PSON) Shareholders Will Want The ROCE Trajectory To Continue

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Amongst...
Analysis Article Aug 03

Pearson (LON:PSON) Has A Pretty Healthy Balance Sheet

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility...
Analysis Article Jun 27

Is Now The Time To Put Pearson (LON:PSON) On Your Watchlist?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to...
Analysis Article Jun 12

A Look At The Fair Value Of Pearson plc (LON:PSON)

Key Insights Pearson's estimated fair value is UK£13.41 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Pearson's UK£10.85...
Analysis Article May 28

Pearson (LON:PSON) Is Experiencing Growth In Returns On Capital

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a...
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New Narrative Mar 02

AI Integration And AWS Partnership Will Transform Future Of Education

Partnership with AWS and AI integration will enhance learning experiences, operational efficiency, and support revenue and margin growth.

Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts

LSE:PSON - Analysts future estimates and past financials data (GBP Millions)
DateRevenueEarningsFree Cash FlowCash from OpAvg. No. Analysts
12/31/20284,0894635687167
12/31/20273,90343948667010
12/31/20263,72940545162110
12/31/20253,577335522656N/A
9/30/20253,549388569700N/A
6/30/20253,520441616744N/A
3/31/20253,536438560686N/A
12/31/20243,552434503627N/A
9/30/20243,551392485607N/A
6/30/20243,549349466587N/A
3/31/20243,612364433556N/A
12/31/20233,674378399525N/A
9/30/20233,803335332466N/A
6/30/20233,932292264407N/A
3/31/20233,887267239384N/A
12/31/20223,841242214361N/A
9/30/20223,730269205365N/A
6/30/20223,619296195368N/A
3/31/20223,524237173347N/A
12/31/20213,428177150326N/A
9/30/20213,465248241392N/A
6/30/20213,502279331457N/A
3/31/20213,450295293423N/A
12/31/20203,397330255389N/A
9/30/20203,465288236391N/A
6/30/20203,532265217393N/A
3/31/20203,701265197381N/A
12/31/20193,869264176369N/A
9/30/20193,981356N/A419N/A
6/30/20194,093447N/A468N/A
3/31/20194,111518N/A465N/A
12/31/20184,129588N/A462N/A
9/30/20184,230600N/A444N/A
6/30/20184,331611N/A425N/A
3/31/20184,422509N/A362N/A
12/31/20174,513406N/A298N/A
9/30/20174,623-863N/A366N/A
6/30/20174,733-2,133N/A433N/A
3/31/20174,643-2,235N/A422N/A
12/31/20164,552-2,337N/A410N/A
9/30/20164,445-1,409N/A336N/A
6/30/20164,337-481N/A262N/A
3/31/20164,403-416N/A237N/A
12/31/20154,468-352N/A211N/A
9/30/20154,479-109N/AN/AN/A
6/30/20154,490134N/A385N/A

Analyst Future Growth Forecasts

Earnings vs Savings Rate: PSON's forecast earnings growth (8.9% per year) is above the savings rate (3.4%).

Earnings vs Market: PSON's earnings (8.9% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the UK market (11.8% per year).

High Growth Earnings: PSON's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.

Revenue vs Market: PSON's revenue (4.4% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the UK market (4.5% per year).

High Growth Revenue: PSON's revenue (4.4% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.


Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts


Future Return on Equity

Future ROE: PSON's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (13.5%).


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Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2026/05/18 12:26
End of Day Share Price 2026/05/15 00:00
Earnings2025/12/31
Annual Earnings2025/12/31

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

PackageDataTimeframeExample US Source *
Company Financials10 years
  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
Analyst Consensus Estimates+3 years
  • Forecast financials
  • Analyst price targets
Market Prices30 years
  • Stock prices
  • Dividends, Splits and Actions
Ownership10 years
  • Top shareholders
  • Insider trading
Management10 years
  • Leadership team
  • Board of directors
Key Developments10 years
  • Company announcements

* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.

Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.

Analyst Sources

Pearson plc is covered by 27 analysts. 10 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

AnalystInstitution
JULIEN ROCHBarclays
Nicholas Michael DempseyBarclays
Nicholas Michael DempseyBarclays