Pearson, PLC
PSO Communication Services Publishing
Pearson, PLC’s revenue for fiscal 2025 (year ended December 2025) was $4.7 billion, up 3.92% from fiscal 2024. Operating cash flow growth for three consecutive years.
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Pearson, PLC (PSO) Altman Z-score
Pearson, PLC's Altman Z-score for fiscal 2025 is 2.65, in the grey zone (1.81–2.99).
Altman Z-score, annual
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Annual newest first
| Period | Altman Z-score | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 2.65 | (0.30) |
| FY2024 | 2.95 | 0.28 |
| FY2023 | 2.67 | 0.25 |
| FY2022 | 2.42 | 0.51 |
| FY2021 | 1.92 | (0.14) |
| FY2020 | 2.06 | 0.10 |
| FY2019 | 1.96 | (0.47) |
| FY2018 | 2.43 | 0.37 |
| FY2017 | 2.06 | 0.64 |
| FY2016 | 1.42 | (0.40) |
How fiscal 2025’s score is made up
| Component | This year | Year before | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital / total assets | 0.18 | — | 0.22 | |
| Retained earnings / total assets | 0.10 | — | 0.14 | |
| EBIT / total assets | 0.08 | — | 0.26 | |
| Market value of equity / total liabilities | 2.48 | — | 1.49 | |
| Sales / total assets | 0.55 | — | 0.55 | |
| Altman Z-score | Grey zone | 2.65 | ||
| Z″ Variant for non-manufacturing and asset-light companies (drops the sales/assets term, uses book equity) | Safe zone | 3.40 | ||
Z and Z″ put Pearson, PLC in different zones: grey zone by Z, safe zone by Z″.
How the Altman Z-score works
Z = 1.2 × working capital ÷ total assets + 1.4 × retained earnings ÷ total assets + 3.3 × EBIT ÷ total assets + 0.6 × market value of equity ÷ total liabilities + 1.0 × revenue ÷ total assets (Altman, 1968). The market value of equity is the close on the last trading day of the fiscal year times weighted basic shares.
Z″ = 6.56 × working capital ÷ total assets + 3.26 × retained earnings ÷ total assets + 6.72 × EBIT ÷ total assets + 1.05 × book equity ÷ total liabilities (Altman, Hartzell and Peck, 1995), the variant for non-manufacturing and asset-light companies.
| Zone | Z | Z″ |
|---|---|---|
| Safe zone | above 2.99 | above 2.60 |
| Grey zone | 1.81–2.99 | 1.10–2.60 |
| Distress zone | below 1.81 | below 1.10 |
Not worked out for banks, insurers and REITs, whose balance sheets the model does not describe, nor when a figure is missing or there is no share price in the week to the fiscal year end.
Altman Z-score against peers
| Company | Altman Z-score |
|---|---|
| NYT The New York Times Company compare | 9.9× |
| PSO Pearson, PLC | 2.7× |
| WLYB John Wiley & Sons, Inc. compare | 2.5× |
| WLY John Wiley & Sons, Inc. compare | 2.5× |
| SCHL Scholastic Corporation compare | 2.5× |
| EDUC Educational Development Corporation compare | 1.9× |
| TDAY USA TODAY Co., Inc. compare | 0.8× |
| LEE Lee Enterprises, Incorporated compare | 0.1× |
| TNMG TNL Mediagene compare | −7.3× |
What Altman Z-score is
The Altman Z-Score weighs working capital, retained earnings, operating profit, market value and sales against assets and debts to gauge the risk of distress.
1.2 × working capital ÷ total assets + 1.4 × retained earnings ÷ total assets + 3.3 × EBIT ÷ total assets + 0.6 × market value of equity ÷ total liabilities + 1.0 × revenue ÷ total assets