S&P 500 Forward PE Ratio

The S&P 500 currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 23.07 as of October 24, 2025.

Over the past five years, the median forward P/E has been 20.79, putting today's valuation in the 88.3th percentile of that range. Looking at the longer 10-year period, where the median sits at 19.51, the current reading ranks in the 87.5th percentile - a level historically associated with Expensive pricing.

Since May 2009, the S&P 500 has recorded a median forward P/E ratio of 18.42 over 16 years. Against this full historical backdrop, the current valuation sits in the 92.4th percentile of all recorded readings, indicating that the market is trading well above its long-term median.

Historical P/E Comparison

The table below compares the forward P/E Ratio (23.07) with its historical median and percentile rankings.

Time Period	Median PE Ratio	Percentile Rank	Valuation
1 Year	22.83	66.7	Overvalued
5 Year	20.79	88.3	Expensive
10 Year	19.51	87.5	Expensive
Since May 2009	18.42	92.4	Expensive

Trailing P/E for S&P 500

Returns vs P/E Ratio

Over the past decade, the PE fell from 117 (95.4th percentile) to 23.07 (87.5th percentile). Annualized total return over this period was 12.6%. Percentile rank indicates position within the historical distribution. Elevated valuations do not necessarily imply immediate low returns; markets can remain richly valued for extended periods, but this warrants caution for longer-horizon return assumptions.

Time Period	Starting PE Ratio	Starting Percentile	Total Return	Annualized Return
1 Year	190.64	99.1	+16.7%	+16.7%
3 Year	146.7	97.1	+78.8%	+21.4%
5 Year	155.61	99.5	+96%	+14.4%
10 Year	117.03	95.4	+228.3%	+12.6%

Historical Data (2009-2025)

Date	Forward PE Ratio
Oct 2025	23.07
Sep 2025	23.58
Aug 2025	22.78
Jul 2025	22.35
Jun 2025	22.75
May 2025	21.67
Apr 2025	20.41
Mar 2025	21.57
Feb 2025	22.88
Jan 2025	23.21
Dec 2024	23.35
Nov 2024	23.95
Oct 2024	22.65
Sep 2024	23.61
Aug 2024	23.14
Jul 2024	22.62
Jun 2024	22.91
May 2024	22.14
Apr 2024	21.12
Mar 2024	22.31
Feb 2024	21.64
Jan 2024	20.58
Dec 2023	20.91
Nov 2023	20.03
Oct 2023	18.39
Sep 2023	19.39
Aug 2023	20.38
Jul 2023	20.75
Jun 2023	20.45
May 2023	19.21
Apr 2023	19.16
Mar 2023	19.07
Feb 2023	18.43
Jan 2023	18.92
Dec 2022	18.12
Nov 2022	19.25
Oct 2022	18.27
Sep 2022	17.08
Aug 2022	18.83
Jul 2022	19.67
Jun 2022	18.74
May 2022	20.46
Apr 2022	20.46
Mar 2022	22.80
Feb 2022	22.01
Jan 2022	22.72
Dec 2021	23.23
Nov 2021	22.26
Oct 2021	22.45
Sep 2021	20.83
Aug 2021	21.87
Jul 2021	21.25
Jun 2021	20.26
May 2021	19.82
Apr 2021	19.72
Mar 2021	18.91
Feb 2021	18.14
Jan 2021	17.68
Dec 2020	19.63
Nov 2020	18.92
Oct 2020	17.09
Sep 2020	18.99
Aug 2020	19.76
Jul 2020	18.47
Jun 2020	20.44
May 2020	20.08
Apr 2020	19.21
Mar 2020	20.93
Feb 2020	23.92
Jan 2020	26.12
Dec 2019	25.95
Nov 2019	25.23
Oct 2019	24.40
Sep 2019	23.55
Aug 2019	23.15
Jul 2019	23.58
Jun 2019	21.03
May 2019	19.67
Apr 2019	21.06
Mar 2019	17.88
Feb 2019	17.56
Jan 2019	17.06
Dec 2018	16.24
Nov 2018	17.88
Oct 2018	17.57
Sep 2018	18.69
Aug 2018	18.61
Jul 2018	18.06
Jun 2018	17.60
May 2018	17.52
Apr 2018	17.15
Mar 2018	17.26
Feb 2018	17.74
Jan 2018	18.46
Dec 2017	17.61
Nov 2017	17.44
Oct 2017	16.97
Sep 2017	17.79
Aug 2017	17.45
Jul 2017	17.44
Jun 2017	18.16
May 2017	18.08
Apr 2017	17.87
Mar 2017	18.81
Feb 2017	18.81
Jan 2017	18.14
Dec 2016	18.71
Nov 2016	18.38
Oct 2016	17.77
Sep 2016	18.54
Aug 2016	18.56
Jul 2016	18.58
Jun 2016	18.72
May 2016	18.70
Apr 2016	18.42
Mar 2016	19.21
Feb 2016	18.02
Jan 2016	18.10
Dec 2015	19.97
Nov 2015	20.33
Oct 2015	20.32
Sep 2015	19.38
Aug 2015	19.91
Jul 2015	21.24
Jun 2015	20.73
May 2015	21.18
Apr 2015	20.96
Mar 2015	20.40
Feb 2015	20.76
Jan 2015	19.68
Dec 2014	19.59
Nov 2014	19.68
Oct 2014	19.20
Sep 2014	18.05
Aug 2014	18.33
Jul 2014	17.67
Jun 2014	17.42
May 2014	17.10
Apr 2014	16.74
Mar 2014	16.42
Feb 2014	16.31
Jan 2014	15.63
Dec 2013	16
Nov 2013	15.63
Oct 2013	15.20
Sep 2013	14.90
Aug 2013	14.47
Jul 2013	14.94
Jun 2013	14.62
May 2013	14.85
Apr 2013	14.54
Mar 2013	14.49
Feb 2013	13.99
Jan 2013	13.84
Dec 2012	13.83
Nov 2012	13.73
Oct 2012	13.69
Sep 2012	14.38
Aug 2012	14.04
Jul 2012	13.77
Jun 2012	13.73
May 2012	13.20
Apr 2012	14.09
Mar 2012	14.42
Feb 2012	13.98
Jan 2012	13.43
Dec 2011	12.80
Nov 2011	12.69
Oct 2011	12.75
Sep 2011	11.36
Aug 2011	12.24
Jul 2011	12.98
Jun 2011	13.34
May 2011	13.59
Apr 2011	13.77
Mar 2011	13.62
Feb 2011	13.64
Jan 2011	13.22
Dec 2010	13.17
Nov 2010	12.36
Oct 2010	12.39
Sep 2010	12.44
Aug 2010	11.44
Jul 2010	12.01
Jun 2010	11.75
May 2010	12.42
Apr 2010	13.53
Mar 2010	13.83
Feb 2010	13.07
Jan 2010	12.70
Dec 2009	13.99
Nov 2009	13.74
Oct 2009	13
Sep 2009	14.31
Aug 2009	13.81
Jul 2009	13.37
Jun 2009	13.78
May 2009	13.77

Definition: Forward P/E Ratio

The forward P/E ratio for S&P 500 shows how much investors are paying for one unit of the index's expected earnings.
It is calculated as : P/E = Index level / Aggregated EPS
Aggregated EPS means the index's total earnings per share after weighting each stock in the index (usually by its market capitalization): Aggregated EPS = sum(weight_i * EPS_i). For forward P/E, the EPS_i values are forecasted for the next 12 months.