Academic publisher Pearson (PSON) is in recovery mode - up 1.4% to 799p - as it bounces back from a sell-off yesterday afternoon (14 Jun).
Casual observers could be forgiven for questioning what was behind the weakness given the company had made no announcements that day and is not an obvious victim of growing concern over Brexit, however the move illustrates the importance to an investor of keeping tabs on a company’s domestic and foreign competitors.
The fall was actually sparked by downbeat comments from its US peer John Wiley & Sons (JW.A:NYSE) which accompanied a slightly worse than expected set of results for its fiscal fourth quarter.
In summary the company suggested visibility in the US higher education market remains low. This area accounts for around 45% of Pearson’s 2015 profits according to Liberum.
Pearson will have the opportunity to address concerns at an investor day focused on US higher education on Friday (17 Jun).
