NWSA vs PSO Stock Comparison

News and Pearson Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NWSA News Corp
$30.74 +9.3% 1M +16.4% 1Y
Market cap
$17.01B
P/E
29.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.03B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
2 wins
PSO Pearson Plc
$18.26 +14.9% 1M +23.0% 1Y
Market cap
$11.92B
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
5 wins

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Pearson leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Pearson 5, News 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNWSAPSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.01B $11.92B NWSA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.7x 26.9x PSO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.6x 20.5x PSO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.8% — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.3% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.4% +23.0% PSO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.0%/yr +16.1%/yr PSO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.2% 25.4% PSO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 43/100 NWSA

Percentile Scorecard

NWSAPSO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisNWSAPSO
Valuation 57 #24 of 54 42 #32 of 54
Growth 93 #4 of 45 –
Profitability 79 #10 of 43 –
Financial Health 87 #9 of 62 72 #18 of 62
Shareholder Returns 32 #18 of 26 16 #22 of 26
Overall 69 43
  • NWSA ranked among 63 companies in Advertising and Media
  • PSO ranked among 63 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNWSAPSOSPY
1 month +9.3%+14.9% -1.0%
3 months +14.9%+12.2% +2.9%
6 months +17.3%+26.2% +6.4%
Year to date +17.7%+30.1% +11.4%
1 year +16.4%+23.0% +13.1%
3 years +43.2%+64.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.7%+18.1% +21.5%
5 years +27.7%+110.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +5.0%+16.1% +10.9%
10 years +129.2%+92.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.7%+6.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNWSAPSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.2%25.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.6%29.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.190.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.630.90 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.7%-32.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.4%-0.8% -2.5%
52-week high $31.19$18.40 $779.14
52-week low $22.40$12.06 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleNWSAPSO
P/E now vs peer median 29.9xmedian 18.8x 26.9xmedian 18.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 0.7x 2.5xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 11.1x —median 11.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.1xmedian 9.4x 14.0xmedian 9.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.6x 2.4xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.51median 0.44 —median 0.44

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsNWSAPSO
Revenue $9.03B –
Net income $743.00M –
Free cash flow $811.00M –
EPS (diluted) $1.03 –
Cash & equivalents $2.10B $448.46M
Total debt $1.99B $1.99B
Shares (diluted) 558.40M 660.30M
Enterprise value $8.49B $9.03B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricNWSAPSO
P/E 29.9x 26.9x
P/FCF 21.1x 14.0x
P/Operating cash flow 13.8x –
P/S 1.9x 2.5x
P/B 1.9x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA 11.1x –
EV/EBIT 16.3x –
EV/Revenue 1.9x –
EV/FCF 21.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 13.7x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.51 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNWSAPSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – –
Net income growth (1Y) -44.6% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 58.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) -50.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 58.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 42.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNWSAPSO
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin 17.0% –
Operating margin – –
Pretax margin 11.6% –
Net margin 6.3% –
FCF margin 9.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 13.7% –
Return on equity 8.0% –
Return on assets 4.8% –
Return on invested capital 6.6% –
Return on capital employed 8.2% –
Asset turnover 0.6x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x –
Stock comp / revenue – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNWSAPSO
Debt / assets 12.8% 22.9%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x –
Debt / FCF 2.5x –
Liabilities / assets 40.6% 43.3%
Equity / assets 59.4% 56.7%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 1.6x 2.0x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.53 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNWSAPSO
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.9%
Net buyback yield 3.7% –
Shareholder yield 4.4% 1.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusNWSAPSO
Forward P/E 24.6xFY2027 20.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.25FY2027 $0.89FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2027 +3.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +30.4% +23.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.16BFY2027 $5.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.4%FY2027 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.1% +6.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNWSAPSO
Held by institutions 100.0% 4.1%
Institutions holding 636 213
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.3% +3.0%
Institutions buying 344 138
Institutions selling 189 36
Buyers to sellers 1.82 3.83

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

NWSAPSO
NWSA 1.00 0.40
PSO 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NWSA and PSO?

News (NWSA) is the largest by market capitalisation: News (NWSA) $17.01B, Pearson (PSO) $11.92B.

Which stock is cheaper, NWSA and PSO?

Pearson (PSO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (News (NWSA) 29.7x, Pearson (PSO) 26.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pearson (PSO) is cheapest (News (NWSA) 24.6x, Pearson (PSO) 20.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Pearson (PSO) returned the most: News (NWSA) +16.4%, Pearson (PSO) +23.0%. Over five years, Pearson (PSO) compounded fastest (News (NWSA) +5.0%/yr, Pearson (PSO) +16.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Pearson (PSO) has been the steadiest (News (NWSA) 26.2%, Pearson (PSO) 25.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do NWSA and PSO move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.40, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, NWSA and PSO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Pearson (PSO) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.