Pearson plc
 | |
 Eighty Strand, Pearson's headquarters in London | |
| Formerly | S. Pearson & Son plc |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| ISIN | GB0006776081  |
| Industry | Education |
| Founded | 1844 |
| Founder | Samuel Pearson |
| Headquarters | Shell Mex House, London, England |
| Key people |
|
| Products | Educational materials, assessments, qualifications, digital learning products |
| Services |
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| Revenue |  £3,577 million (2025) (2025) |
 £507 million (2025) (2025) | |
| £336 million (2025) (2025) | |
| Total assets | £6,458 million (2025) (2025) |
| Total equity | £3,663 million (2025) (2025) |
Number of employees | 17,062 average (2025) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | plc |
Pearson is a British multinational education and assessment company headquartered in London. It provides learning materials, assessments, qualifications, virtual learning, English-language learning, higher-education products and enterprise learning and skills services. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, and has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange through American depositary receipts. In 2025, Pearson reported revenue of £3.6 billion and had an average of about 17,000 employees.
The company originated as S. Pearson & Son, a Yorkshire building and civil-engineering contractor founded in the nineteenth century. Under Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, it became one of the world's largest engineering contractors and developed interests in Mexican oil, electricity, finance, coal, aviation and publishing. In the twentieth century Pearson shifted towards publishing and media, acquiring the Financial Times and a stake in The Economist in 1957, Longman in 1968 and Penguin Books in 1970. The company changed its name from S. Pearson & Son plc to Pearson plc in 1984.
Under chief executive Marjorie Scardino, Pearson increasingly focused on education, forming Pearson Education in 1998 after acquiring the education businesses of Simon & Schuster. Between 2015 and 2020 Pearson sold the Financial Times, its stake in The Economist, and its remaining stake in Penguin Random House, leaving education, assessment and learning technology as its core businesses.
Pearson is organised around five business units: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Higher Education, and Enterprise Learning and Skills. It owns Edexcel, one of the main GCSE and A-level examination boards in England. Omar Abbosh has served as chief executive since January 2024. Pearson has faced criticism and regulatory action over its role in education policy, exam security, qualification standards, data-breach disclosure and executive pay.