NEWS CORPORATION vs PEARSON PLC, two Commercial Printing stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
News Corp is a diversified media and information company; Pearson is an education publisher and assessment provider. News Corp earns the higher return, 12.25% on equity against Pearson's 9.17%, on a higher margin too, 12.92% against 9.39%, and trades cheaper, 14.26 times earnings against Pearson's 23.88, and at 1.72 times book against 2.18. The comparison sets a media conglomerate against an education publisher: News Corp earns more across its newspapers, books, and listings at a lower multiple, Pearson trades dearer on its shift toward digital learning and professional certification.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | NWS | PSO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $30.92 | $16.91 |
| Market cap | $17.2B | $11.0B |
| Sector | Commercial Printing | Commercial Printing |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +2.7% |
| P/E | 15.4 | 26.0 |
| P/B | 1.85 | 2.38 |
| P/S | 1.95 | 2.43 |
| EV/EBITDA | 35.6 | 16.4 |
| Revenue growth | +4.3% | +1.3% |
| Gross margin | — | 52.0% |
| Operating margin | — | 14.2% |
| Net margin | 12.9% | 9.4% |
| Return on equity | 12.3% | 9.2% |
| Return on assets | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 10.2% |
| FCF yield | -3.1% | 7.5% |
| Dividend yield | 0.7% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.21 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.70 | — |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.67 | 2.82 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.