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# What is the average P/E ratio in the financial sector?

The price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) is one of the most common metrics used by investors to analyze whether investing in a company is a worthwhile endeavor. Simply put, the P/E ratio is the price an investor is willing to pay for each dollar of a company's earnings. The P/E ratio may be calculated with the following mathematical formula:

﻿ \begin{aligned} \text{P/E Ratio} = \frac{ \text {Price Per Share} }{ \text {Earnings Per Share} } \\ \end{aligned}﻿

To cite an example, if a company's stock was trading at $50 per share and had earnings of$5 per share, its P/E ratio would be 10.

### Key Takeaways

• The price-to-earnings ratio is one of the most highly-watched metrics used by investors to analyze whether a company warrants their investment dollars.
• The P/E ratio is essentially the price an investor is willing to pay for each dollar of a company's earnings.
• Investors pay extra close attention to the P/E ratios of financial services providers, such as banks, brokerage firms, and insurance companies, because the strength of these institutions can broadly indicate the strength of the overall economy.

## Variations of P/E Ratios

There are several versions of P/E ratios that investors may rely on to gauge a company's fiscal wellbeing. These include the following categories:

• Trailing P/E. Trailing P/E uses the weighted average number of common shares that are presently on the open market and divides that figure by the net income from the last 12 months. This is the default P/E ratio if no other type is designated.
• Trailing P/E from continued operations. This metric relies on operating earnings that do not include earnings from operations that have ceased. It also excludes so-called "extraordinary operations," which define unusual events like accounting changes, write-downs, and one-time windfalls.
• Forward P/E. Rather than relying on a company's net income, the Forward P/E ratio factors in the estimated net earnings for the upcoming 12 months. To cultivate this number, several analysts weigh in with their predictions, and the mean value is then plugged into the formula.

## Average P/E Ratio for the Financial Services Industry

The financial services industry comprises a sizable portion of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). For this reason, investors religiously track the P/E ratios of companies within this sector because they broadly indicate the strength of the overall economy. Specifically, investors study the P/E ratios of brokerage firms, banking operations, asset managers, as well as debt and credit service providers.

To cite an actual example, on August 2021, the average P/E ratio of the financial services industry was 7.60. This metric includes the sector averages of specific financial service categories, including banks, which had a P/E ratio of 11.25, credit services (7.29), Asset Management (7.95), capital markets (22.38) and the insurance sector (10.30).

Article Sources
Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.
1. Statista. "Percentage added to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States of America in 2020, by industry." Accessed August 24, 2021.

2. GuruFocus. "Financial Services - Overview of Market Industries: Valuation and Profitability." Accessed August 24, 2021.

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