P/E ratio (price to earnings)

How many years of current profits the share price represents.

How it’s calculated

Share price ÷ earnings per share over the last twelve months (“trailing” P/E).

How to read it

A P/E of 20 means investors are paying £20 or $20 for every £1 or $1 of annual profit. A higher P/E usually means the market expects faster growth; a lower one can mean lower expectations or a business the market sees as riskier.

There is no P/E when a company has made a loss. A low P/E on its own is not proof of good value: profits may be about to fall.

How StockDecks scores it

Lower scores better. On the general benchmark, 15 counts as strong, 25 as typical and 60 as weak. Sectors where higher multiples are normal have their own benchmarks — for technology, about 32 is typical.

It is one of the measures behind the Valuation rating. Every measure, benchmark and weighting is set out on the methodology page.

Real examples

Across the 102 companies StockDecks has a page for with this figure available, as of 24 October 2026, the middle value is 22.6×.

Lowest

3i Group Ord 4.29× · Barclays 8.14× · JD Sports Fashion 8.15×

Highest

Tesla 409.03× · Burberry 173.33× · Palantir Technologies 169.61×

Figures from Yahoo Finance, captured 24 October 2026. Being high or low on one measure says little on its own — each company page shows how this measure sits alongside the others.