PSO vs NWSA vs EBF Stock Comparison

Pearson, News and Ennis Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PSO Pearson Plc
$18.30 +13.5% 1M +22.5% 1Y
Market cap
$11.49B
P/E
27.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
1 win
NWSA News Corp
$30.59 +7.4% 1M +16.2% 1Y
Market cap
$16.67B
P/E
29.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.03B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
2 wins
EBF Ennis, Inc.
$22.57 +2.0% 1M +33.2% 1Y
Market cap
$569.43M
P/E
14.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$397.15M
Div. yield
0.04%
Publishing Communication Services
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Ennis leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ennis 6, News 2, Pearson 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPSONWSAEBFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.49B $16.67B $569.43M NWSA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.0x 29.1x 14.6x EBF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.6x 24.5x 14.8x EBF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +6.8% +2.3% NWSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 6.3% 9.8% EBF
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% 0.04% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +22.5% +16.2% +33.2% EBF
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.0%/yr +5.9%/yr +3.9%/yr PSO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.5% 26.2% 21.3% EBF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 41/100 69/100 71/100 EBF

Percentile Scorecard

PSONWSAEBF

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

AxisPSONWSAEBF
Valuation 40 #33 of 54 57 #24 of 54 89 #7 of 54
Growth – 93 #4 of 45 50 #23 of 45
Profitability – 79 #10 of 43 95 #3 of 43
Financial Health 72 #18 of 62 87 #9 of 62 97 #3 of 62
Shareholder Returns 12 #23 of 26 32 #18 of 26 24 #20 of 26
Overall 41 69 71
  • PSO ranked among 62 companies in Advertising and Media
  • NWSA ranked among 62 companies in Advertising and Media
  • EBF ranked among 62 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPSONWSAEBFSPY
1 month +13.5%+7.4%+2.0% -0.8%
3 months +9.3%+12.1%+3.7% +3.5%
6 months +25.7%+15.8%+10.6% +7.0%
Year to date +30.3%+17.1%+25.3% +12.2%
1 year +22.5%+16.2%+33.2% +13.0%
3 years +65.2%+51.3%+7.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +18.2%+14.8%+2.5% +23.1%
5 years +119.2%+33.2%+21.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +17.0%+5.9%+3.9% +11.0%
10 years +101.3%+136.9%+49.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +7.2%+9.0%+4.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasurePSONWSAEBFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.5%26.2%21.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.1%27.6%22.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.350.180.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.880.621.56 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.1%-38.7%-35.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.5%-1.9%-1.6% -1.8%
52-week high $18.40$31.19$22.93 $779.14
52-week low $12.06$22.40$16.38 $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.

MultiplePSONWSAEBF
P/E now vs peer median 27.0xmedian 18.4x 29.7xmedian 18.4x 14.6xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 0.6x 1.9xmedian 0.6x 1.4xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 11.0x 11.0xmedian 11.0x 7.3xmedian 11.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 9.1x 21.0xmedian 9.1x 9.9xmedian 9.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.6x 1.8xmedian 1.6x 1.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.44 0.51median 0.44 -3.24median 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 monthsPSONWSAEBF
Revenue – $9.03B $397.15M
Gross profit – – $121.66M
Operating income – – $54.19M
Net income – $743.00M $38.95M
Free cash flow – $811.00M $57.58M
EPS (diluted) – $1.03 $1.54
Cash & equivalents $448.46M $2.10B $54.01M
Total debt $1.99B $1.99B –
Shares (diluted) 660.30M 558.40M 25.33M
Enterprise value $8.60B $8.16B $400.48M

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
MetricPSONWSAEBF
P/E 27.0x 29.7x 14.6x
P/FCF 14.1x 21.0x 9.9x
P/Operating cash flow – 13.8x 8.3x
P/S 2.5x 1.9x 1.4x
P/B 2.4x 1.8x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 3.1x 2.3x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA – 11.0x 7.3x
EV/EBIT – 16.2x 9.5x
EV/Revenue – 1.9x 1.3x
EV/FCF – 20.9x 9.0x
EV/Operating cash flow – 13.7x 7.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.51 -3.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPSONWSAEBF
Revenue growth (1Y) – 6.8% 2.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.1% -2.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 4.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – -1.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 6.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – -4.9%
Net income growth (1Y) – -44.6% -7.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 58.4% -5.4%
EPS growth (1Y) – -50.4% -6.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 58.6% -4.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 26.5% 38.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 16.8% 4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 42.0% 30.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 23.6% 2.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPSONWSAEBF
Gross margin – – 30.6%
EBITDA margin – 17.0% 17.9%
Operating margin – – 13.6%
Pretax margin – 11.6% 13.5%
Net margin – 6.3% 9.8%
FCF margin – 9.0% 14.5%
Operating cash flow margin – 13.7% 17.2%
Return on equity – 8.0% 12.5%
Return on assets – 4.8% 10.7%
Return on invested capital – 6.6% –
Return on capital employed – 8.2% 16.7%
Asset turnover – 0.6x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.7x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPSONWSAEBF
Debt / assets 22.9% 12.8% –
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.1x –
Debt / FCF – 2.5x –
Liabilities / assets 43.3% 40.6% 13.9%
Equity / assets 56.7% 59.4% 86.1%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.0x 1.6x 3.8x
Quick ratio 1.3x 1.4x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.8x 1.4x
Altman Z-score – 2.53 9.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPSONWSAEBF
Dividend yield 1.9% 0.7% 4.5%
Net buyback yield – 3.8% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 4.4% 5.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 65.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 44.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -72.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -0.3%

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.

ConsensusPSONWSAEBF
Forward P/E 20.6xFY2026 24.5xFY2027 14.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.89FY2026 $1.25FY2027 $1.53FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.5%FY2026 +5.9%FY2027 -7.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.6% +30.4% +9.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.14BFY2026 $9.15BFY2027 $380.54MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 +1.3%FY2027 -3.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.6% +3.9% +9.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPSONWSAEBF
Held by institutions 4.1% 100.0% 85.0%
Institutions holding 213 636 164
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.0% -3.3% +0.3%
Institutions buying 138 344 82
Institutions selling 36 189 44
Buyers to sellers 3.83 1.82 1.86

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.

PSONWSAEBF
PSO 1.00 0.40 0.14
NWSA 0.40 1.00 0.18
EBF 0.14 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PSO, NWSA and EBF?

News (NWSA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Pearson (PSO) $11.49B, News (NWSA) $16.67B, Ennis (EBF) $569.43M.

Which stock is cheaper, PSO, NWSA and EBF?

Ennis (EBF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Pearson (PSO) 27.0x, News (NWSA) 29.1x, Ennis (EBF) 14.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ennis (EBF) is cheapest (Pearson (PSO) 20.6x, News (NWSA) 24.5x, Ennis (EBF) 14.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

News (NWSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: News (NWSA) +6.8%, Ennis (EBF) +2.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ennis (EBF) has the highest net margin (News (NWSA) 6.3%, Ennis (EBF) 9.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ennis (EBF) returned the most: Pearson (PSO) +22.5%, News (NWSA) +16.2%, Ennis (EBF) +33.2%. Over five years, Pearson (PSO) compounded fastest (Pearson (PSO) +17.0%/yr, News (NWSA) +5.9%/yr, Ennis (EBF) +3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Pearson (PSO) 0.00%, News (NWSA) 0.00%, Ennis (EBF) 0.04%. Pearson (PSO) and News (NWSA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ennis (EBF) has been the steadiest (Pearson (PSO) 25.5%, News (NWSA) 26.2%, Ennis (EBF) 21.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PSO, NWSA and EBF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ennis (EBF) leads on 6. 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.