Powering growth through innovation
Read our 2025 Annual Report to see how we have delivered strong financial and operational progress through disciplined execution of our strategy. We embedded AI more deeply across our products and services, built momentum in enterprise through strategic partnerships, and expanded into fast‑growing areas of the learning market, including Early Careers and Enterprise Skilling. As the world’s lifelong learning company and a trusted global provider of learning content, assessments and skills solutions, Pearson is uniquely positioned to meet the evolving global demand for skills and help people realise the life they imagine through learning.
2025 Highlights
Underlying sales growth increase of 4%
Adjusted operating profit of £614m, an increase year-on-year of 6% on an underlying basis.
Strong cash performance with free cash flow of £527m and completed a £350m share buyback.
Continued enterprise momentum through strategic partnerships, including with AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud, to help employees and organisations prepare for the future of work.
Continued to lead with the application of innovative technologies, deepening and scaling AI across our offering, driving measurable improvements in learner outcomes and saving educators meaningful time.
We remain focused on disciplined execution, targeted investment and delivering for our shareholders. We’ve made great strides in 2025. We’ve grown our business, deepened our impact and laid the groundwork for future success. But we’re only just getting started.
Omar Abbosh,Chief ExecutiveRead the CEO’s letter to shareholders
SALLY JOHNSON,Chief Financial OfficerRead the CFO’s review
Our Strategy in Action
Core Performance
Execution Synergies
Growth Pillars
Core Performance
We continued to strengthen our core business through scaling our presence across multiple verticals and solution types, accelerating the introduction of innovative products and services, and disciplined improvements in execution. Further detail on strategic progress within our business units is set out on pages 4-5 of the Annual Report, with performance against our ‘power metrics’ reported on page 23.
Execution Synergies
Operational Systems
We merged several teams into a dedicated Revenue Operations unit to standardise sales processes, strengthen pipeline management, and bring teams closer to customers. We significantly expanded our AI capabilities across content creation, software development, and customer services. For example, we are deploying Claude and Claude Code across engineering and business functions to speed up development and enhance productivity and quality.
Modern Software and Product Development
We rolled out a consistent product operating model organisation-wide, delivering significant improvements in product governance and aligning Pearson to a unified architecture. We embedded real‑time feedback into every product cycle and strengthened business reviews to drive disciplined capital allocation and strategic planning – establishing the foundation for consistent, measurable and market‑leading product outcomes.
Strategic Partnerships
We have consolidated our suppliers and deepened our relationships with a smaller number of key partners. We established operational governance for 360°
Partnerships, encompassing balanced trade, joint go-to-market programmes and co-innovation with leading hyperscalers (including AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud) and professional service partners (including Deloitte, IBM, HCLTech and Cognizant). These strategic alliances are unlocking significant commercial opportunities and driving innovation to deliver market-leading, customer-aligned solutions.
Growth Pillars
Early Careers
We acquired eDynamic Learning, strengthening our leadership in digital Career and Technical Education and accelerating our vision of a seamless learner journey from exploration through certification. We also deepened partnerships with industry associations tackling critical workforce shortages, including early collaboration with the Ohio Health Care Association. Through Certiport, we also forged meaningful enterprise partnerships, engaging students worldwide in Microsoft and Adobe certification competitions.
Enterprise Skilling
We unified our sales, marketing, revenue operations, delivery, product and technology under one cohesive framework. Our newly established go-to-market approach led to nine important strategic enterprise partnerships, piloting high-impact bundles in priority segments and forged new go‑to‑market collaborations that significantly broaden our reach and accelerate growth in the corporate market. Our enterprise business will contribute meaningful shareholder value over the medium term.