HTHT vs. PSO: H World vs. Pearson Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO) both fall under the Consumer Services industry group, but HTHT is classified in Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure while PSO is classified in Diversified Consumer Services.

Both H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO) trade as ADRs — their core financials are comparable, but keep FX, depositary-program fees, and dividend withholding in view for each.

Company profile comparison for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Profile Item	HTHT	PSO
Name	H World Group Limited ADR	Pearson plc Sponsored ADR
Country/Region	China	United Kingdom
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Services	Consumer Services
GICS Industry	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure	Diversified Consumer Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines	Education Services
Market Capitalization	16.10 billion USD	10.38 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	March 26, 2010	November 18, 1996
Security Type	ADR	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HTHT

PSO

GSPC

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
Total Return (1Y)	28.22%	34.42%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	19.01%	15.38%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	4.99%	17.99%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HTHT

PSO

GSPC

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.66%	25.07%
Beta (5Y)	0.08	0.43
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-53.93%	-30.73%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.56M	698.84K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

HTHT and PSO are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.76	1.20
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.19	1.67

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

H World (HTHT) at 38.13% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Pearson (PSO) at 9.16% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for HTHT.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

38.13%

Max: 76.75%
HTHT: 38.13%
Q3: 34.07%
Median: 15.90%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

9.16%

Max: 76.75%
Q3: 34.07%
Median: 15.90%
PSO: 9.16%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

H World (HTHT) at 18.93% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Pearson (PSO) at 8.78%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

18.93%

Max: 25.52%
HTHT: 18.93%
Q3: 12.95%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

8.78%

Max: 25.52%
Q3: 12.95%
PSO: 8.78%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

H World (HTHT) at 31.15% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Pearson (PSO) at 13.32%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

31.15%

Max: 49.05%
HTHT: 31.15%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

13.32%

Max: 49.05%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
PSO: 13.32%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
ROE (TTM)	38.13%	9.16%
ROA (TTM)	7.45%	5.09%
Net Margin (TTM)	18.93%	8.78%
Operating Margin (TTM)	31.15%	13.32%
Gross Margin (TTM)	41.10%	52.04%

Growth

Revenue Growth

H World (HTHT) at 5.93% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Pearson (PSO) at 0.70% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

H World (HTHT) at 66.67% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Pearson (PSO) at -20.16% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for HTHT.

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.93%	0.70%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	22.22%	-2.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	66.67%	-20.16%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	15.86%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

H World (HTHT) at 1.21 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Pearson (PSO) at 2.00 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

1.21

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
HTHT: 1.21
Median: 1.06
Q1: 0.72
Min: 0.22

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

2.00

Max: 3.41
PSO: 2.00
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
Q1: 0.72
Min: 0.22

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both H World (HTHT) at 2.40 and Pearson (PSO) at 0.52 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

2.40

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
HTHT: 2.40
Median: 1.29
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

0.52

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
Median: 1.29
PSO: 0.52
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.21	2.00
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.40	0.52
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.10	2.35

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Pearson (PSO) at 1.46% pays an industry-typical yield; H World (HTHT) at 29.60% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

29.60%

HTHT: 29.60%
Max: 4.10%
Q3: 1.82%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

1.46%

Max: 4.10%
Q3: 1.82%
PSO: 1.46%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

H World (HTHT) reports payout ratio above 100% at 159.42%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Pearson (PSO) reports 51.09%, ranking against industry peers normally.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

159.42%

HTHT: 159.42%
Max: 89.80%
Q3: 36.83%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

51.09%

Max: 89.80%
PSO: 51.09%
Q3: 36.83%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
Dividend Yield (TTM)	29.60%	1.46%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	159.42%	51.09%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Pearson (PSO) at 25.78 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while H World (HTHT) at 38.09 sits in the richer quartile — HTHT needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

38.09

Max: 71.70
HTHT: 38.09
Q3: 37.12
Median: 21.88
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

25.78

Max: 71.70
Q3: 37.12
PSO: 25.78
Median: 21.88
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

H World (HTHT) at 0.61 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Pearson (PSO) at 2.86 prices around its industry’s middle — HTHT costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

0.61

Max: 6.40
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
Q1: 0.74
HTHT: 0.61
Min: 0.08

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

2.86

Max: 6.40
Q3: 3.01
PSO: 2.86
Median: 1.54
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Pearson (PSO) at 2.38 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while H World (HTHT) at 7.64 carries an above-peer premium to book — HTHT is pricier on assets.

HTHT

Consumer Services industry group

7.64

Max: 12.02
HTHT: 7.64
Q3: 5.58
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51

PSO

Consumer Services industry group

2.38

Max: 12.02
Q3: 5.58
PSO: 2.38
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51

H World (HTHT) vs. Pearson (PSO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for H World (HTHT) and Pearson (PSO)
Metric	HTHT	PSO
P/E Ratio (TTM)	38.09	25.78
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.61	2.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.64	2.38
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	45.80%	8.08%