Pearson
PSO · Last close · October 26, 2026
$18.30
Pearson's revenue rose 0.7% to £3.6 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 14.2%, down from 15.2% a year earlier. It paid out £223 million in dividends and buybacks. The diluted share count fell 3.5%.
PEARSON PLC
Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
20-F filed March 13, 2026 · 0001193125-26-104945
Updated
Revenue
£3.6B
0.7%
Operating margin
14.2%
1.1 pts
Net income
£335M
22.8%
Free cash flow
—
Return on capital
7.3%
1.7 pts
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
About these figures. Pearson is a foreign company: it files an annual report on Form 20-F, prepared under international accounting standards (IFRS), instead of a 10-K, and no quarterly reports, so this page has fiscal years only. Its shares trade in the US as American depositary shares (ADSs), and one ADS can stand for several ordinary shares, so per-share figures are per ordinary share and the page has no market value, P/E or valuation model. Its figures are in GBP, as it reports them: they aren't converted to US dollars.
Revenue and margins
Revenue
GBP billions, fiscal years
Margins
Percent of revenue
GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2017 to 2025, earnings per share fell 43.6% a year and net income 2.4% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 19%.
Net income
GBP billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.
Diluted earnings per share
GBP per ordinary share, fiscal years; loss years in red. One US-listed ADS can stand for several ordinary shares.
Returns on capital
Return on capital and on equity
Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.
Return on capitalReturn on equity
Cash flow
Free cash flow
GBP billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.
Payouts and share count
Dividends and buybacks
GBP billions, cash paid in each fiscal year
DividendsShare buybacks
Diluted share count
Weighted-average diluted shares, millions
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 937 | 558 | 312 | 543 | 333 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 1,555 | 1,316 | 1,228 | 1,787 | 1,543 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 618 | 758 | 916 | 1,244 | 1,210 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Debt to equity | 0.4x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.4x | 0.4x |
| Interest coverage | 2.7x | 3.8x | 6.2x | 4.8x | 5.2x |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | — |
| Quick ratio | — | — | — | — | — |
GBP millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | — | — | — |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Pass | Fail |
| F-score | — | — | — |
| Accruals ratio | −2.1% | −2.8% | −4.8% |
The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.
Compare
Put Pearson side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearson | FY25 | 0.7% | 14.2% | — | 7.3% | — | — | |
| New York Times | FY25 | 9.2% | 15.3% | 19.5% | 23.8% | −1.2x | 7 | Compare |
| John Wiley & Sons | FY26 | −0.1% | 16.5% | 12.5% | 18.9% | 1.4x | 8 | Compare |
| Scholastic | FY26 | −2.7% | 1.0% | 0.2% | 1.1% | −0.7x | 7 | Compare |
| News | FY26 | 6.8% | — | 9.0% | 8.9% | −0.1x | 5 | Compare |
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 4,552 | 4,513 | 4,129 | 3,869 | 3,397 | 3,428 | 3,841 | 3,674 | 3,552 | 3,577 |
| Revenue growth | 1.9% | −0.9% | −8.5% | −6.3% | −12.2% | 0.9% | 12.1% | −4.3% | −3.3% | 0.7% |
| Gross profit | 2,459 | 2,447 | 2,186 | 2,011 | 1,630 | 1,681 | 1,795 | 1,835 | 1,811 | 1,860 |
| Research and development | 23 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Operating income | −2,497 | 451 | 553 | 275 | 411 | 183 | 271 | 498 | 541 | 507 |
| Net income | −2,337 | 406 | 588 | 264 | 330 | 177 | 242 | 378 | 434 | 335 |
| Diluted EPS (GBP) | −2.87 | 49.90 | 75.50 | 0.34 | 43.70 | 0.23 | 0.33 | 0.53 | 0.64 | 0.51 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 815 | 814 | 779 | 778 | 755 | 759 | 742 | 717 | 684 | 660 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 410 | 298 | 462 | 369 | 389 | 326 | 361 | 525 | 627 | 656 |
| Capital expenditure | 88 | 82 | 70 | 55 | 53 | 64 | — | — | — | — |
| Free cash flow | 322 | 216 | 392 | 314 | 336 | 262 | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends paid | 424 | 318 | 136 | 147 | 146 | 149 | 156 | 154 | 156 | 160 |
| Share buybacks | 27 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 6 | 16 | 37 | 35 | 33 | 63 |
| Acquisitions | 15 | 11 | 5 | 45 | 6 | 55 | 228 | 171 | 39 | 167 |
| Stock-based compensation | 22 | 33 | 37 | 25 | 29 | 28 | 35 | 40 | 44 | 39 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,459 | 518 | 568 | 437 | 1,097 | 937 | 558 | 312 | 543 | 333 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 2,512 | 1,104 | 766 | 1,756 | 1,905 | 1,555 | 1,316 | 1,228 | 1,787 | 1,543 |
| Total assets | 10,066 | 7,888 | 7,905 | 7,650 | 7,451 | 7,343 | 7,324 | 6,727 | 6,892 | 6,458 |
| Total liabilities | 5,718 | 3,867 | 3,380 | 3,327 | 3,317 | 3,063 | 2,909 | 2,739 | 2,839 | 2,795 |
| Shareholders' equity | 4,344 | 4,013 | 4,516 | 4,313 | 4,125 | 4,270 | 4,402 | 3,974 | 4,038 | 3,648 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 54.0% | 54.2% | 52.9% | 52.0% | 48.0% | 49.0% | 46.7% | 50.0% | 51.0% | 52.0% |
| Operating margin | −54.9% | 10.0% | 13.4% | 7.1% | 12.1% | 5.3% | 7.1% | 13.6% | 15.2% | 14.2% |
| Net margin | −51.3% | 9.0% | 14.2% | 6.8% | 9.7% | 5.2% | 6.3% | 10.3% | 12.2% | 9.4% |
| Free cash flow margin | 7.1% | 4.8% | 9.5% | 8.1% | 9.9% | 7.6% | — | — | — | — |
| Return on capital | — | 8.8% | 12.0% | 5.3% | 6.7% | 3.7% | 4.1% | 7.6% | 9.1% | 7.3% |
| Return on equity | −43.4% | 9.7% | 13.8% | 6.0% | 7.8% | 4.2% | 5.6% | 9.0% | 10.8% | 8.7% |
| Return on assets | −21.5% | 4.5% | 7.5% | 3.4% | 4.4% | 2.4% | 3.3% | 5.4% | 6.4% | 5.0% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | 0.5x | 0.2x | 1.4x | 0.8x | — | — | — | — | — |
GBP millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, GBP millions)
Source: Pearson's Form 20-F filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Pearson.