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Pearson (FRA:PES) Altman Z-Score : 3.09 (As of Dec. 13, 2024)


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What is Pearson Altman Z-Score?

The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.

Good Sign:

Altman Z-score of 3.02 is strong.

Pearson has a Altman Z-Score of 3.09, indicating it is in Safe Zones. This implies the Altman Z-Score is strong.

The zones of discrimination were as such:

When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.

The historical rank and industry rank for Pearson's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:

FRA:PES' s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -1.04   Med: 1.96   Max: 3.02
Current: 3.02

During the past 13 years, Pearson's highest Altman Z-Score was 3.02. The lowest was -1.04. And the median was 1.96.


Pearson Altman Z-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Pearson's Altman Z-Score can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Pearson Altman Z-Score Chart

Pearson Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Altman Z-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 1.96 1.86 1.96 2.47 2.62

Pearson Semi-Annual Data
Dec14 Jun15 Dec15 Jun16 Dec16 Jun17 Dec17 Jun18 Dec18 Jun19 Dec19 Jun20 Dec20 Jun21 Dec21 Jun22 Dec22 Jun23 Dec23 Jun24
Altman Z-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only - 2.47 - 2.62 -

Competitive Comparison of Pearson's Altman Z-Score

For the Publishing subindustry, Pearson's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Pearson's Altman Z-Score Distribution in the Media - Diversified Industry

For the Media - Diversified industry and Communication Services sector, Pearson's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Pearson's Altman Z-Score falls into.



Pearson Altman Z-Score Calculation

Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.

Pearson's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:

Z=1.2*X1+1.4*X2+3.3*X3+0.6*X4+1.0*X5
=1.2*0.153+1.4*0.1107+3.3*0.0824+0.6*3.2245+1.0*0.5462
=3.09

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.

Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023:
Total Assets was €7,808 Mil.
Total Current Assets was €2,824 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was €1,630 Mil.
Retained Earnings was €865 Mil.
Pre-Tax Income was €572 Mil.
Interest Expense was €-71 Mil.
Revenue was €4,265 Mil.
Market Cap (Today) was €10,252 Mil.
Total Liabilities was €3,179 Mil.

* Note that for stock reported semi-annually or annually, GuruFocus uses latest annual data as the TTM data.

X1=Working Capital/Total Assets
=(Total Current Assets - Total Current Liabilities)/Total Assets
=(2824.128 - 1629.706)/7808.429
=0.153

X2=Retained Earnings/Total Assets
=864.766/7808.429
=0.1107

X3=Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets
=(Pre-Tax Income - Interest Expense)/Total Assets
=(572.254 - -70.806)/7808.429
=0.0824

X4=Market Value Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities
=Market Cap/Total Liabilities
=10251.595/3179.32
=3.2245

X5=Revenue/Total Assets
=4264.63/7808.429
=0.5462

The zones of discrimination were as such:

Distress Zones - 1.81 < Grey Zones < 2.99 - Safe Zones

Pearson has a Altman Z-Score of 3.09 indicating it is in Safe Zones.

Study by Altman found that companies that are in Distress Zone have more than 80% of chances of bankruptcy in two years.


Pearson  (FRA:PES) Altman Z-Score Explanation

X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.

X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.

X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.

X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.

X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.

Read more about Altman Z-Score and the original research.


Be Aware

Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.


Pearson Altman Z-Score Related Terms

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Pearson Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
80 Strand, London, GBR, WC2R 0RL
U.K.-listed Pearson is the world's largest educational provider. The company has been disposing of noncore businesses such as the Financial Times, The Economist, and publishing house Penguin, and is now focused on being an educational resource and testing provider. While Pearson's primary activity centres on higher-level education, the firm also has significant operations in providing clinical assessments, professional certification and testing.

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