The WACC of Pearson PLC (PSON.L) is 8.1%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 7.90% - 9.80% | 8.85% |
| Tax rate | 14.10% - 18.00% | 16.05% |
| Cost of debt | 4.70% - 4.90% | 4.80% |
| WACC | 7.3% - 8.9% | 8.1% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 4.0% | 4.5% |
| Equity market risk premium | 6.0% | 7.0% |
| Adjusted beta | 0.65 | 0.69 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Cost of equity | 7.90% | 9.80% |
| Tax rate | 14.10% | 18.00% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.19 | 0.19 |
| Cost of debt | 4.70% | 4.90% |
| After-tax WACC | 7.3% | 8.9% |
| Selected WACC | 8.1% | |
The Cost of Equity reflects the return a company needs to deliver to shareholders to justify the risk of investing in its shares. It’s computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which blends the risk-free rate, the stock’s beta, and the market risk premium.
This method evaluates the stock’s risk compared to a safe investment and the market’s overall volatility.
Here’s how we figure out the cost of equity for PSON.L:
cost_of_equity (8.85%) = risk_free_rate (4.25%) + equity_risk_premium (6.50%) * adjusted_beta (0.65) + risk_adjustments (0.25%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.