UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of October
2026
PEARSON plc
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
80 Strand
London, England WC2R 0RL
44-20-7010-2000
(Address
of principal executive office)
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant files or will file annual
reports
under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
Form
20-F
X
Form 40-F
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant by furnishing the
information
contained
in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the
Commission
pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934
Yes
No X
Pearson 2026 Nine Month Trading Update (Unaudited)
|
22nd
October
2026
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Accelerated growth in Q3 and on track to deliver 2026 guidance.
Strategic acquisitions and optimising Pearson’s structure
further strengthen our growth platform.
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Highlights
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●
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Underlying Group revenue increased 5% for the nine-month period,
with growth accelerating to 6% in Q3, in line with
expectations.
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●
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On track to deliver 2026 guidance of mid-single digit underlying
revenue growth with a narrowed adjusted operating profit range of
£650m-£675m (previously £640m-£685m), at FX
rates as at the end of 2025 (£:$ 1.35). We continue to expect
free cash flow conversion1
of 90% -
100%.
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●
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Announced two strategic acquisitions to drive long term shareholder
value and strengthen our strategic position:
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o
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ITS (link
here):
bringing a trusted assessment technology partner in-house to
strengthen our core assessment and verification capabilities, while
expanding growth opportunities in professional assessment and
related markets worldwide.
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|
o
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Workera (link
here): a
pioneer in enterprise assessment and skills verification, to
strengthen our enterprise offering through an AI driven skills
intelligence platform and AI native talent.
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●
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Re-segmenting Pearson into four customer-focused business units,
supported by strengthened core capabilities and a new operating
model, designed to sharpen accountability, improve agility and
performance, and drive growth. Assessment and verification
infrastructure remains at the core of Pearson.
|
Omar Abbosh, Pearson’s Chief Executive, said:
“Pearson delivered accelerated revenue growth in the quarter,
meaning we are on track to deliver our 2026 guidance. We are
strengthening our portfolio through two high-quality acquisitions
that will enhance our core assessment and verification capabilities
and accelerate our strategy to support enterprises in developing,
assessing and verifying the skills needed in an AI driven economy.
Together with optimising Pearson's structure to create clearer
customer ownership and to elevate our commercial and product
capabilities, this gives us further confidence in our ability to
drive ever stronger performance and to deliver sustainable long
term growth.”
Underlying Group revenue increased 5% for the nine-month period,
accelerating to 6% in Q3
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●
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Assessment & Qualifications revenue increased 4% for the
nine-month period, with growth accelerating to 10% in Q3, driven by
new contracts and strong demand for the verification of AI
skills.
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●
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Virtual Learning revenue increased 17% for the nine-month period,
with growth of 13% in Q3, driven by 2026/27 academic year
enrolments up 8% for the Fall semester.
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●
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Higher Education revenue increased 2% in both the nine-month period
and Q3. In US Higher Education, Q3 revenue growth was driven by a
solid performance in core US Courseware, partially offset by
declines in K12, reflecting delayed adoptions and funding
pressures.
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●
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English Language Learning revenue declined 4% for the nine-month
period with Q3 revenue down 5% impacted by a strong comparator in
Pearson Test of English (PTE) given test enhancements implemented
last year, alongside continued challenging underlying market
conditions.
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●
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Enterprise Learning & Skills revenue increased 7% in the
nine-month period and 6% in Q3, driven by a solid performance in
Vocational Qualifications and growth in Enterprise Solutions,
supported by the continued monetisation of our strategic
partnerships.
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Outlook
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●
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For 2026, we continue to expect mid-single digit underlying revenue
growth, with a narrowed adjusted operating profit range of
£650m-£675m at FX rates as at the end of 2025 (£:$
1.35), including the impact of the 2025 product development
impairment2,
and free cash flow conversion of 90%-100%.
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●
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Over the medium term, Pearson is well positioned to deliver a
mid-single digit underlying revenue growth CAGR, sustained margin
improvement that will equate to an average increase of 40 basis
points per annum and strong free cash conversion, in the region of
90% to 100%, on average, across the period.
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Re-segmenting the business and implementing a new unified operating
model to drive growth
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●
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We are simplifying Pearson through the creation of four larger,
more balanced, customer-focused business units.
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●
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Assessment and verification infrastructure remains at the core of
Pearson and runs through the business.
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●
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New operating model designed to strengthen performance by aligning
the business more closely with customer needs, sharpening strategic
focus and accountability, and investing in growth-orientated core
capabilities to drive performance and agility.
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●
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The re-segmentation will also give investors a clearer view of
Pearson’s business, customers and growth
drivers.
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●
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The following table outlines our four new business units, effective
from 1 January 2027:
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Business Unit
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FY25 Revenue
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Offerings
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US K12
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c.£1.2bn
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K12 Assessments
Virtual Schools
College & Career Ready
Special Education
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US Higher Education
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c.£0.6bn
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US Higher Education
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UK & International
Education
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c.£0.8bn
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Qualifications
Learning & Assessment Services
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Enterprise
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c.£1.0bn
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Professional Assessments
Talent & Clinical Assessments
Workforce Skilling
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●
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We expect these changes to result in one-off reorganisation costs
of c.£50m in total across FY26 and FY27, which will be
excluded from adjusted operating profit. We expect these costs to
be weighted to FY26 given implementation plans, with around half of
the total representing non-cash costs. The associated savings will
be reinvested back into the business to strengthen our
growth-orientated core capabilities.
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●
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We will provide historical proforma financial performance ahead of
our 2026 Preliminary Results to support investors in the transition
to the new structure.
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Investing for growth through disciplined capital
deployment
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●
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We completed the acquisition of ITS, a trusted assessment
technology provider:
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o
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Strengthening our core assessment and verification capabilities
through bringing in-house a long-standing partner;
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o
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Expanding our assessment offering across remote testing,
proctoring, performance-based assessment and continuous
certification; and
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o
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Supporting future adjacent growth opportunities in mid-stakes
assessment and international markets.
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●
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We agreed to acquire Workera, a pioneer in AI-native enterprise
assessment and skills verification:
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o
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Strengthening our enterprise offering with assessment and workforce
intelligence capabilities;
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o
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Expanding blue chip customer base, opening growth opportunities
across Enterprise; and
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o
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Adding a highly talented AI-native team, supporting future growth,
innovation, and scale.
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o
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We expect to complete the acquisition before the year
end.
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Financial summary
Underlying growth for the third quarter and nine months ended 30
September 2026 compared with the equivalent period in
2025.
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Revenue
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Q3
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Nine months
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Assessment & Qualifications
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10%
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4%
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Virtual Learning
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13%
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17%
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Higher Education
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2%
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2%
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English Language Learning
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(5)%
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(4)%
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Enterprise Learning & Skills
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6%
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7%
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Total
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6%
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5%
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Throughout this announcement, growth rates are stated on an
underlying basis unless otherwise stated. Underlying growth rates
exclude currency movements and portfolio changes.
Assessment & Qualifications
Assessment & Qualifications revenue increased 4% for the
nine-month period, with growth accelerating to 10% in
Q3.
Pearson Professional Assessments revenue growth accelerated in Q3,
driven by new contract launches, including a global certification
programme with Anthropic, highlighting growing demand for the
trusted verification of AI skills. Revenue increased 7% for the
nine-month period, reflecting contributions from both recently
launched contracts and those launched in the prior year, partially
offset by headwinds in PDRI, which were fully annualised in the
first half of the year.
In Q3, US Student Assessment secured a new long term statewide
assessment award in Pennsylvania, effective from the 2027-2028
academic year assessment cycle. For the nine-month period, revenue
declined 4%, driven by the previously disclosed loss of the New
Jersey contract, partially offset by the biennial NAEP testing
cycle and delivery phasing benefits that are expected to reverse in
Q4.
Clinical Assessment revenue grew 8% for the nine-month period, due
to the continued traction of our products, including in
international markets, as well as pricing and digital product
growth. We continue to lead in the application of innovative
technologies with the launch of an AI-powered co-writing assistant
for clinical and psychoeducational reports, enhancing practitioner
productivity and supporting high-quality evaluation
outcomes.
UK & International Qualifications revenue increased 7% for the
nine-month period driven by new contracts, volume and
pricing.
For Assessment & Qualifications, we continue to expect low to
mid-single digit revenue growth for the full year driven by new
contracts, products and pricing.
Virtual Learning
Virtual Learning revenue increased 17% for the nine-month period,
with Q3 up 13%, driven by strong enrolment growth, funding upside
and favourable mix. Enrolment growth for the 2026/27 academic year
was 8% in the Fall semester, reflecting continued demand for
virtual schooling and strong execution, underpinning our confidence
for the academic year.
We successfully opened five new schools for the 2026/27 academic
year, bringing our total network to 46 schools across 32 states.
This included our first school in North Carolina, a new state for
Pearson, where early demand has been encouraging.
Full year expectations for Virtual Learning remain unchanged, with
stronger growth than 2025 driven by a full year of enrolment
growth.
Higher Education
In Higher Education, revenue increased 2% for the nine-month period
benefiting from growth of 20% in Inclusive Access. Revenue also
increased 2% in Q3, with growth in US Higher Education revenue
driven by a solid performance in core US Courseware, partially
offset by declines in K12, reflecting delayed adoptions and funding
pressures. International Higher Education grew in Q3 driven by the
monetisation of our enterprise strategic partnerships alongside
stable performance across mature and emerging markets as our
turnaround plan progresses.
We continue to advance our strategy to help learners become
workforce ready in the age of AI, recently announcing new products
designed to connect career exploration, skills development and
industry-recognised credentials, helping learners progress from
education into employment. The first offerings, Career Studio for
School and Career Studio for Work, will bring together our content,
assessments, certifications and AI-enabled support to address
growing workforce readiness and skills needs.
We continue to expect Higher Education to grow in 2026. Growth in
our core US courseware business will be supported by continued
product and platform innovation, pricing and Inclusive Access,
partially offset by challenging conditions in the K12
market.
English Language Learning
English Language Learning revenue declined 4% for the nine-month
period, as growth in Institutional was more than offset by
challenging market conditions in PTE, driven by tight migration
policies and geopolitical disruption. Our operational performance
remains resilient, and we are confident in the long-term
attractiveness of the business, although near-term market pressures
are expected to persist.
In Q3, revenue declined 5%, driven by lower PTE revenue partially
offset by strong growth in Institutional, including Enterprise. PTE
was further impacted by a strong prior year comparator following
the test enhancements implemented last year.
We continue to expand the footprint of our global Institutional
business, launching new courseware to support Ministry of Education
reforms in Italy, Poland and Spain, and announcing a partnership
with Squirrel Ai that combines Pearson’s English content with
its adaptive learning technology. We
also launched Official PTE Academic AI Practice, giving test takers
AI driven preparation tools and personalised
feedback.
We continue to expect Institutional to grow for the full year,
driven by market share gains and pricing while PTE is expected to
decline given the challenging market backdrop.
Enterprise Learning & Skills
Enterprise Learning & Skills revenue increased 7% for the
nine-month period and 6% in Q3.
Vocational Qualifications delivered another solid performance in
Q3, driven by recently awarded contracts, including the extension
of our vocational education programme with the Jordanian Ministry
of Education and an agreement with the Uzbekistan Ministry of
Higher Education, Science and Innovation to roll out BTEC
qualifications nationwide.
Enterprise Solutions continued to grow, supported by the ongoing
monetisation of strategic partnerships. Demand from technology
services and software partners for outcome-based skilling
programmes remained strong, particularly for priority engineering
roles. We are helping employees progress from foundational
capability to proficiency in high value skills through integrated
assessment, learning and certification.
We continue to expect growth in 2026 to be driven by a solid
performance in Vocational Qualifications and strategic account
growth in Enterprise Solutions.
2026 guidance summary
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Underlying Revenue growth
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Group
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Mid-single digit growth.
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Assessment & Qualifications
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Low to mid-single digit growth, driven by new contracts, products
and pricing.
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Virtual Learning
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Stronger growth than 2025 driven by a full year of enrolment
growth.
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Higher Education
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Growth to be supported by continued product and platform
innovation, pricing and Inclusive Access in our core US Courseware
business.
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English Language Learning
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Institutional is expected to grow, driven by market share gains and
pricing. PTE is expected to decline given the challenging market
backdrop.
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Enterprise Learning & Skills
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Growth to be driven by a solid performance in Vocational
Qualifications and strategic account growth in Enterprise
Solutions.
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Group Profit
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Adjusted Operating Profit
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£650m-£675m at FX rates as at the end of 2025 (£:$
1.35), which includes lower amortisation in 2026 following the 2025
product development impairment.
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Interest
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Adjusted net finance costs of c.£80m.
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Tax rate
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We expect the effective tax rate on adjusted profit before tax to
be c.25%.
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Cash flow
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We expect a free cash flow conversion of 90-100%.
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FX
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Every 1c movement in £:$ rate equates to approximately
£5m adjusted operating profit impact.
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1 Free cash flow conversion
calculated as free cash flow divided by adjusted
earnings.
2 The 2025 product development
impairment relates to an £87m non-cash, one-off impairment of
legacy product development assets arising from strategic platform
convergence. This convergence is expected to deliver ongoing
operational improvements and result in an average adjusted
operating profit improvement of c.£15m per annum over the next
six years in Higher Education.
Financial Calendar
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●
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We will be hosting an online Virtual Schools Investor Seminar on 11
December 2026.
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●
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Our next results announcement will be Pearson’s 2026
Preliminary Results, which will be released on 25 February
2027.
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Executive change
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●
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Tom ap Simon, President Higher Education and Virtual Learning, has
decided to leave Pearson. We thank Tom for his long contribution to
Pearson, in particular returning the Higher Education business unit
to growth under his leadership.
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●
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Kate Eberle Walker, will lead our newly formed US Higher Education
business unit. Kate brings extensive education leadership expertise
with more than 25 years of experience scaling technology enabled
businesses. Kate most recently served as CEO of Presence, the
leading provider of K–12 special education technology and
teletherapy services, and previous to that, as CEO of The Princeton
Review, a prominent test preparation and tutoring company. She has
also held leadership roles at Kaplan and Tutor.com, along with
board seats at prominent education companies.
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●
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Tom will stay on until early 2027 to help ensure a smooth
transition.
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Contacts
|
Investor Relations
|
Alex Shore
Steph Crinnegan
Brennan Matthews
ir@pearson.com
|
+44 (0) 7720 947 853
+44 (0) 7780 555 351
+1 (332) 238-8785
https://plc.pearson.com/en-GB/investors
|
|
Media
Edelman Smithfield
Pearson
|
Latika Shah
Laura Ewart
|
+44 (0) 7950 671 948
+44 (0) 7798 846 805
|
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Virtual Event
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Pearson’s 2026 nine-month trading update is taking place
today at 09:30 (BST). Register to receive login
details:
https://pearson.connectid.cloud/register
|
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About Pearson
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realise the life
they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning
opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. That’s
why our Pearson employees are committed to creating vibrant and
enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. We
are the world’s lifelong learning company, serving customers
with digital content, assessments, qualifications, and data. For
us, learning isn’t just what we do. It’s who we are.
Visit us at pearsonplc.com.
Notes
Forward looking statements: Except for the historical information
contained herein, the matters discussed in this statement include
forward-looking statements. In particular, all statements that
express forecasts, expectations and projections with respect to
future matters, including trends in results of operations, margins,
growth rates, overall market trends, the impact of interest or
exchange rates, the availability of financing, anticipated cost
savings and synergies and the execution of Pearson’s
strategy, are forward-looking statements. By their nature,
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because
they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur
in future. They are based on numerous assumptions regarding
Pearson’s present and future business strategies and the
environment in which it will operate in the future. There are a
number of factors which could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements, including a number of factors outside
Pearson’s control. These include international, national and
local conditions, as well as competition. They also include other
risks detailed from time to time in Pearson’s publicly-filed
documents and you are advised to read, in particular, the risk
factors set out in Pearson’s latest annual report and
accounts, which can be found on its website (www.pearsonplc.com).
Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are
made, and Pearson gives no undertaking to update forward-looking
statements to reflect any changes in its expectations with regard
thereto or any changes to events, conditions or circumstances on
which any such statement is based. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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PEARSON
plc
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Date: 22
October 2026
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By: /s/
CHRISTIE WOLSTENCROFT
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------------------------------------
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Christie
Wolstencroft
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Senior
Assistant Company Secretary
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