PSO vs VALU vs VRSK Stock Comparison

Pearson, Value Line and Verisk Analytics Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PSO Pearson Plc
$17.33 +8.7% 1M +18.5% 1Y
Market cap
$11.36B
P/E
25.6x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
4 wins
VALU Value Line Inc
$41.64 +6.9% 1M +7.2% 1Y
Market cap
$390.67M
P/E
19.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$32.89M
Div. yield
3.30%
Publishing Communication Services
2 wins
VRSK Verisk Analytics, Inc.
$189.80 +13.1% 1M -18.2% 1Y
Market cap
$24.83B
P/E
28.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.14B
Div. yield
–
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Pearson leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Pearson 4, Verisk Analytics 3, Value Line 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPSOVALUVRSKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.36B $390.67M $24.83B VRSK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.6x 19.7x 28.0x VALU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.5x — 23.8x PSO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — -5.5% +5.0% VRSK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 60.3% 28.2% VALU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 31.9% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 2.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 3.30% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.5% +7.2% -18.2% PSO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.9%/yr +3.9%/yr -2.0%/yr PSO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.7% 35.0% 37.5% PSO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 48/100 56/100 VRSK

Percentile Scorecard

PSOVALUVRSK

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

AxisPSOVALUVRSK
Valuation 42 #31 of 53 29 #38 of 53 32 #645 of 941
Growth – 26 #33 of 44 48 #333 of 636
Profitability – 73 #12 of 42 97 #21 of 612
Financial Health 72 #18 of 61 93 #5 of 61 33 #467 of 693
Shareholder Returns 16 #22 of 26 20 #21 of 26 71 #206 of 706
Overall 43 48 56
  • PSO ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • VALU ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • VRSK ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPSOVALUVRSKSPY
1 month +8.7%+6.9%+13.1% +0.9%
3 months -1.8%+17.5%-11.0% +5.9%
6 months +19.9%+20.6%+0.9% +8.5%
Year to date +23.4%+8.4%-15.2% +13.3%
1 year +18.5%+7.2%-18.2% +12.4%
3 years +56.4%+8.2%-15.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +16.1%+2.6%-5.4% +23.5%
5 years +109.3%+20.9%-9.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year +15.9%+3.9%-2.0% +11.0%
10 years +87.4%+131.3%+133.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +6.5%+8.7%+8.8% +13.8%

Risk

MeasurePSOVALUVRSKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.7%35.0%37.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.6%33.3%39.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.330.08-0.48 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.720.21-0.49 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.1%-68.3%-51.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.8%-6.3%-18.2% -0.9%
52-week high $18.40$44.44$232.13 $779.14
52-week low $12.06$32.00$156.84 $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.

MultiplePSOVALUVRSK
P/E now vs peer median 25.6xmedian 18.7x 19.7xmedian 18.7x 28.0xmedian 12.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 0.6x 11.9xmedian 0.6x 7.9xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 10.6x 69.7xmedian 10.6x 16.6xmedian 7.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 8.9x 22.0xmedian 8.9x 20.0xmedian 10.8x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.6x 3.6xmedian 1.6x -20.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.49 —median 0.49 1.12median 0.87

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 monthsPSOVALUVRSK
Revenue – $32.89M $3.14B
Gross profit – – $2.20B
Operating income – $3.56M $1.38B
Net income – $19.83M $885.50M
Free cash flow – $17.73M $1.24B
EPS (diluted) – – $6.77
Cash & equivalents $448.46M $16.02M $551.40M
Total debt $1.99B – $11.77B
Shares (diluted) 660.30M – 130.85M
Enterprise value $8.47B $137.98M $19.47B

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
MetricPSOVALUVRSK
P/E 25.6x 19.7x 28.0x
P/FCF 13.3x 22.0x 20.0x
P/Operating cash flow – 22.0x 16.4x
P/S 2.3x 11.9x 7.9x
P/B 2.2x 3.6x -20.8x
P/Tangible book 2.9x 3.6x -16.4x
EV/EBITDA – 69.7x 16.6x
EV/EBIT – 94.8x 20.8x
EV/Revenue – 10.3x 9.1x
EV/FCF – 19.1x 23.1x
EV/Operating cash flow – 19.1x 19.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – – 1.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPSOVALUVRSK
Revenue growth (1Y) – -5.5% 5.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – -5.9% 6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 6.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 8.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -36.8% 4.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -32.7% 6.6%
Net income growth (1Y) – -6.7% -3.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 2.4% 20.7%
EPS growth (1Y) – – 3.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – – 25.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -15.7% 21.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -0.3% 11.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -15.0% 21.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -0.3% 14.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPSOVALUVRSK
Gross margin – – 70.2%
EBITDA margin – 14.7% 55.0%
Operating margin – 10.8% 43.9%
Pretax margin – 40.5% 37.0%
Net margin – 60.3% 28.2%
FCF margin – 53.9% 39.4%
Operating cash flow margin – 53.9% 47.9%
Return on equity – 5.5% –
Return on assets – 3.9% 19.5%
Return on invested capital – – 31.9%
Return on capital employed – 2.7% 40.1%
Asset turnover – 0.2x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.9x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPSOVALUVRSK
Debt / assets 22.9% – 99.5%
Debt / equity 0.4x – -3.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 2.3x
Debt / FCF – – 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 43.3% 28.5% 126.4%
Equity / assets 56.7% 71.5% -26.4%
Interest coverage – – 7.0x
Current ratio 2.0x 4.1x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.3x 2.4x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.4x 2.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 7.35 6.85

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPSOVALUVRSK
Dividend yield 2.0% 3.3% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – 0.2% 7.6%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 3.6% 8.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 62.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 70.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 7.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.6% –

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.

ConsensusPSOVALUVRSK
Forward P/E 19.5xFY2026 – 23.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.89FY2026 – $7.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.5%FY2026 – +11.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.6% – +5.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.14BFY2026 – $3.33BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 – +8.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.6% – +6.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPSOVALUVRSK
Held by institutions 4.1% 5.6% 97.6%
Institutions holding 213 53 953
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.0% +2.8% -0.4%
Institutions buying 138 16 487
Institutions selling 36 18 349
Buyers to sellers 3.83 0.89 1.40

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.

PSOVALUVRSK
PSO 1.00 0.12 0.41
VALU 0.12 1.00 0.07
VRSK 0.41 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PSO, VALU and VRSK?

Verisk Analytics (VRSK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Pearson (PSO) $11.36B, Value Line (VALU) $390.67M, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) $24.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, PSO, VALU and VRSK?

Value Line (VALU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Pearson (PSO) 25.6x, Value Line (VALU) 19.7x, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) 28.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pearson (PSO) is cheapest (Pearson (PSO) 19.5x, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) 23.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Verisk Analytics (VRSK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Value Line (VALU) -5.5%, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) +5.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Value Line (VALU) has the highest net margin (Value Line (VALU) 60.3%, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) 28.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Pearson (PSO) returned the most: Pearson (PSO) +18.5%, Value Line (VALU) +7.2%, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) -18.2%. Over five years, Pearson (PSO) compounded fastest (Pearson (PSO) +15.9%/yr, Value Line (VALU) +3.9%/yr, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) -2.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Pearson (PSO) 0.00%, Value Line (VALU) 3.30%, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) 0.00%. Pearson (PSO) and Verisk Analytics (VRSK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Pearson (PSO) has been the steadiest (Pearson (PSO) 25.7%, Value Line (VALU) 35.0%, Verisk Analytics (VRSK) 37.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PSO, VALU and VRSK?

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 4. 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.