PEARSON PLC vs JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC., two Commercial Printing stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Pearson and John Wiley are both education-and-content publishers, Pearson in schooling and assessment, Wiley in academic research and professional learning. Wiley earns the higher return, 26.13% on equity against Pearson's 9.17%, on a higher margin, 13.22% against 9.39%, and trades far cheaper, 11.59 times earnings against Pearson's 23.88. The comparison prices two publishers on very different terms: Wiley earns stronger returns on its research franchise at a low multiple, Pearson trades dearer on its larger but lower-return education-and-assessment business.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | PSO | WLY |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $16.91 | $50.12 |
| Market cap | $11.0B | $2.6B |
| Sector | Commercial Printing | Commercial Printing |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +2.7% | +2.8% |
| P/E | 26.0 | 12.1 |
| P/B | 2.38 | 3.11 |
| P/S | 2.43 | 1.57 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.4 | 7.8 |
| Revenue growth | +1.3% | -0.1% |
| Gross margin | 52.0% | — |
| Operating margin | 14.2% | 24.6% |
| Net margin | 9.4% | 13.2% |
| Return on equity | 9.2% | 26.1% |
| Return on assets | 5.2% | 8.6% |
| Return on invested capital | 10.2% | 14.2% |
| FCF yield | 7.5% | 7.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.82 |
| Current ratio | — | 0.54 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.82 | 2.47 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 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.