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Pearson's sales growth accelerates on English test demand

British education company Pearson said its underlying sales growth accelerated to 4% in the third quarter, up from 2% in the first half, driven by demand for virtual learning, where enrolments rose 13% for the 2025/26 academic year.

Business • 17 Oct

Pearson to raise India headcount by 43% in three years

UK-based Pearson plans to boost its workforce in India by about 43% to 2,000, an executive told Reuters today, months after the education firm named India one of its top three priority markets globally.

Business • 13 Jun

UK education company Pearson reports 10% profit rise

British education company Pearson has today reported a 10% rise in full-year adjusted operating profit to £600m, the top of its expectations, and said it would deliver more growth in 2025.

Business • 28 Feb

Pearson has reported 5% growth in underlying sales in its third quarter

AI helps Pearson grow sales 5% in back-to-school quarter

British education company Pearson has reported accelerating growth in its third quarter, boosted by AI and a stronger performance in assessment and qualifications, putting it on track to meet market expectations for the year.

Business • 29 Oct 24

Pearson said today it expected its underlying sales growth and profit this year would be in line with current market expectations

Pearson meets forecasts with 31% rise in operating profit

Education company Pearson said strong demand for its English language courses and a higher margin in its exams unit boosted profit and cash flow in 2023, enabling an additional £200m of share buy-backs.

Business • 01 Mar 24

Omar Abbosh will succeed Andy Bird, who is retiring after about three years as Pearson CEO

Pearson names Microsoft executive Abbosh as its new CEO

British education group Pearson said today it has appointed Microsoft executive Omar Abbosh as its new CEO effective early 2024.

Business • 20 Sep 23

Pearson has today posted adjusted operating profit of £250m for the six months to the end of June

Pearson reiterates outlook on strong demand

Global education group Pearson said it was on course to hit annual and mid-term targets after demand for English language learning, exams and qualifications helped it to beat market expectations with 44% growth in profit in its first half.

Business • 31 Jul 23

Pearson had announced last year that POLS was the subject of a strategic review

Pearson agrees to sell online unit to Regent

British education group Pearson said it would sell Pearson Online Learning Services (POLS) to private equity group Regent for a deferred sum paid over a number of years, as it seeks to reshape its portfolio towards lifelong learning.

Business • 21 Mar 23

Last year Pearson rejected three takeover offers from US group Apollo

Pearson says 2022 beat forecasts on demand for learning

Pearson said its 2022 profit beat forecasts, helped by strong demand for English language learning materials and as more people sought qualifications in healthcare and IT, and took courses to improve their skills.

Business • 18 Jan 23

Pearson has reported nine months of strong trading led by an 'outstanding' result in English language learning

Strong demand for English keeps Pearson on track

British education company Pearson said today it was on track to meet its expectations for the year after nine months of strong trading led by an "outstanding" result in English language learning.

Business • 24 Oct 22

Pearson has endured a turbulent pandemic

Education group Pearson lifts profit outlook

Global education group Pearson has today raised its forecast for full-year adjusted operating profit in a boost to management efforts to restructure the business and counter fluctuating fortunes at its US Higher Education division.

Business • 19 Jan 22

Demand for Pearson's online learning offsets Covid hit

Global education group Pearson said Covid-19 and a tight labour market had hit enrolments at US community colleges but growth in online learning and testing meant it remained on track for its full-year targets.

Business • 15 Oct 21

Pearson is repositioning itself as a consumer-facing group offering training and skills for life beyond its core schools and colleges remit

Demand for online learning boosts Pearson's Q1 trading

Global education group Pearson said strong demand for online learning courses had helped the group to post a 5% rise in underlying revenue growth in the first three months of the year.

Business • 26 Apr 21

Pearson targets consumers directly with new strategy

Global education group Pearson said it would restructure the company to be able to serve consumers directly, after it posted 2020 operating profit in line with forecasts.

Business • 08 Mar 21

Online learning demand softens Covid impact on Pearson

British education group Pearson said it was on course to hit market expectations after demand for online learning helped soften the impact from cancelled tests and closed schools due to Covid-19.

Business • 14 Oct 20

Andy Bird will take up the CEO role at Pearson next month

Pearson overcomes investor ire to hire new CEO

Shareholders in educational publisher Pearson sanctioned the appointment of former Disney executive Andy Bird as CEO today, accepting the need for a multimillion-pound pay packet to secure his services.

Business • 18 Sep 20

Pearson CEO is due to step down later this year

Pearson appoints Walt Disney exec Bird as new CEO

Global education group Pearson has appointed Andy Bird, a media veteran who ran the international arm of The Walt Disney Company, as its new chief executive.

Business • 24 Aug 20

Pearson has withdrawn its guidance for the year

Pearson swings to H1 loss due to pandemic

Pearson has seen a rebound in demand since June and remains on track to hit its targets this year despite a loss in the first half, the British education company said today.

Business • 24 Jul 20

Pearson's CEO John Fallon said the company was in a strong financial position with a healthy balance sheet, low net debt and good liquidity

Pearson increases online focus as revenue falls 5%

Britain's Pearson said its first-quarter revenue declined 5% driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused the closure of schools and assessment centres.

Business • 24 Apr 20

Pearson CEO John Fallon said the company was seeing an 'explosion' in demand for online learning

Online learning rockets in virus pandemic - Pearson

Pearson has seen an "explosion" in demand for online learning, with traffic across its platforms quadrupling as millions of children start to adapt to home schooling during the coronavirus pandemic, its chief executive said.

Business • 27 Mar 20

Pearson's full-year revenue flat, sees profit of £590m

Shares in British publisher Pearson slumped today to their lowest in more than a decade after it said operating profit would be lower this year because of continued declines in sales at its US higher education business.

Business • 16 Jan 20

Pearson is selling its remaining 25% stake in publisher Penguin Random House

Pearson to sell Penguin Random House stake

Britain's Pearson is selling its 25% stake in Penguin Random House to German partner Bertelsmann, ending a near 50-year association with consumer publishing to focus solely on education.

Business • 18 Dec 19

Pearson warns on profit on weak US trading

British education company Pearson today warned that its full year profit would be at the bottom of its guided range.

Business • 26 Sep 19

Pearson CEO John Fallon said the company is starting to benefit from accelerating its shift to digital

Pearson revival on track as shift to digital pays off

Pearson, the world's biggest education company, said it had traded well in the first half of 2019 and would stick to its revenue guidance, as its strategy to shift away from textbooks towards digital learning begins to pay off.

Business • 26 Jul 19

Pearson CEO John Fallon said he was pleased to have its US school publishing unit find a new owner committed to its future

Pearson sells K12 US textbook unit for $250m

UK education company Pearson said today it had agreed to sell its US K12 courseware business to Nexus Capital Management for $250m as it shifts its focus from textbooks to digital.

Business • 18 Feb 19