S&P 500 Communication Services Forward PE Ratio

The S&P 500 Communication Services currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 21.43 as of October 24, 2025.

Over the past five years, the median forward P/E has been 17.62, putting today's valuation in the 81.7th percentile of that range. Looking at the longer 10-year period, where the median sits at 17.3, the current reading ranks in the 84.2th percentile - a level historically associated with Expensive pricing.

Since January 2009, the S&P 500 Communication Services has recorded a median forward P/E ratio of 16.87 over 17 years. Against this full historical backdrop, the current valuation sits in the 82.2th 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 (21.43) with its historical median and percentile rankings.

Time Period	Median PE Ratio	Percentile Rank	Valuation
1 Year	18.98	91.7	Expensive
5 Year	17.62	81.7	Expensive
10 Year	17.3	84.2	Expensive
Since Jan 2009	16.87	82.2	Expensive

Trailing P/E for S&P 500 Communication Services

Returns vs P/E Ratio

Over the past decade, the PE rose from 11.7 (3.8th percentile) to 21.43 (84.2th percentile). Annualized total return over this period was 11.3%. 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	21.32	81.2	+36.6%	+36.6%
3 Year	13.12	17.8	+150.1%	+35.7%
5 Year	23.16	89.4	+108.9%	+15.9%
10 Year	11.68	3.8	+192.4%	+11.3%

Historical Data (2009-2025)

Date	Forward PE Ratio
Oct 2025	21.43
Sep 2025	21.91
Aug 2025	20.76
Jul 2025	20.04
Jun 2025	19.83
May 2025	18.50
Apr 2025	16.88
Mar 2025	16.70
Feb 2025	18.22
Jan 2025	19.45
Dec 2024	18.03
Nov 2024	17.42
Oct 2024	16.90
Sep 2024	16.95
Aug 2024	16.22
Jul 2024	16.02
Jun 2024	17.76
May 2024	16.96
Apr 2024	15.92
Mar 2024	17.49
Feb 2024	16.77
Jan 2024	15.87
Dec 2023	16.47
Nov 2023	15.72
Oct 2023	14.58
Sep 2023	15.60
Aug 2023	16.13
Jul 2023	16.19
Jun 2023	15.94
May 2023	15.54
Apr 2023	14.63
Mar 2023	15.17
Feb 2023	13.74
Jan 2023	14.41
Dec 2022	13.90
Nov 2022	15.09
Oct 2022	14.12
Sep 2022	15.36
Aug 2022	17.49
Jul 2022	18.25
Jun 2022	18.55
May 2022	20.09
Apr 2022	19.74
Mar 2022	23.18
Feb 2022	22.97
Jan 2022	24.69
Dec 2021	24.02
Nov 2021	23.43
Oct 2021	24.70
Sep 2021	22.80
Aug 2021	24.41
Jul 2021	23.25
Jun 2021	21.47
May 2021	20.90
Apr 2021	20.91
Mar 2021	18.95
Feb 2021	18.38
Jan 2021	17.31
Dec 2020	19.28
Nov 2020	18.70
Oct 2020	17.07
Sep 2020	18.82
Aug 2020	20.13
Jul 2020	18.46
Jun 2020	20.46
May 2020	20.57
Apr 2020	19.41
Mar 2020	20.40
Feb 2020	23.23
Jan 2020	24.81
Dec 2019	24.38
Nov 2019	23.92
Oct 2019	23.06
Sep 2019	22.57
Aug 2019	22.48
Jul 2019	22.83
Jun 2019	20.58
May 2019	19.74
Apr 2019	20.99
Mar 2019	18.83
Feb 2019	18.39
Jan 2019	18.24
Dec 2018	16.45
Nov 2018	17.76
Oct 2018	17.88
Sep 2018	18.56
Aug 2018	17.80
Jul 2018	17.30
Jun 2018	14.19
May 2018	13.88
Apr 2018	14.20
Mar 2018	12.68
Feb 2018	12.82
Jan 2018	13.80
Dec 2017	14.16
Nov 2017	13.39
Oct 2017	12.64
Sep 2017	13.14
Aug 2017	12.69
Jul 2017	13.10
Jun 2017	13.71
May 2017	14.13
Apr 2017	14.27
Mar 2017	16.22
Feb 2017	16.43
Jan 2017	16.49
Dec 2016	16.14
Nov 2016	14.93
Oct 2016	14.42
Sep 2016	15.79
Aug 2016	15.94
Jul 2016	16.91
Jun 2016	18.43
May 2016	16.86
Apr 2016	16.87
Mar 2016	17.24
Feb 2016	16.22
Jan 2016	15.80
Dec 2015	13.70
Nov 2015	13.47
Oct 2015	13.65
Sep 2015	12.60
Aug 2015	13.08
Jul 2015	13.54
Jun 2015	12.53
May 2015	12.83
Apr 2015	13.08
Mar 2015	12.39
Feb 2015	12.88
Jan 2015	12.08
Dec 2014	20.25
Nov 2014	21.59
Oct 2014	21.35
Sep 2014	21.71
Aug 2014	21.64
Jul 2014	21.87
Jun 2014	21.38
May 2014	21.66
Apr 2014	20.95
Mar 2014	21.09
Feb 2014	20.15
Jan 2014	20.36
Dec 2013	10.89
Nov 2013	10.92
Oct 2013	11.22
Sep 2013	10.65
Aug 2013	10.72
Jul 2013	11.18
Jun 2013	11.92
May 2013	11.70
Apr 2013	12.64
Mar 2013	12.62
Feb 2013	12.23
Jan 2013	11.92
Dec 2012	37.36
Nov 2012	37.77
Oct 2012	38.11
Sep 2012	44.86
Aug 2012	43.20
Jul 2012	44.31
Jun 2012	40.48
May 2012	38.43
Apr 2012	37.45
Mar 2012	38.07
Feb 2012	37.69
Jan 2012	36.34
Dec 2011	17.07
Nov 2011	16.46
Oct 2011	16.33
Sep 2011	16.35
Aug 2011	16.57
Jul 2011	16.80
Jun 2011	19.35
May 2011	19.63
Apr 2011	19.32
Mar 2011	19.16
Feb 2011	18.22
Jan 2011	17.80
Dec 2010	17.44
Nov 2010	16.21
Oct 2010	16.45
Sep 2010	16.72
Aug 2010	15.49
Jul 2010	15.15
Jun 2010	13.66
May 2010	13.71
Apr 2010	14.27
Mar 2010	14.47
Feb 2010	13.73
Jan 2010	13.91
Dec 2009	15.36
Nov 2009	14.69
Oct 2009	13.81
Sep 2009	14.65
Aug 2009	14.25
Jul 2009	14.60
Jun 2009	14.29
May 2009	14.15
Apr 2009	14.34
Mar 2009	13.95
Feb 2009	13.17
Jan 2009	13.55

Sector Comparison

The table below shows a comparison of the forward P/E Ratio (21.43) with other sectors.

Sector	PE Ratio	Percentile Rank	Rating
S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary	29.13	72.50	Overvalued
S&P 500 Consumer Staples	21.28	75.80	Overvalued
S&P 500 Health Care	17.59	7.50	Attractive
S&P 500 Industrials	24.30	72.50	Overvalued
S&P 500 Information Technology	30.61	88.30	Expensive
S&P 500 Materials	19.05	54.20	Fair Value
S&P 500 Real Estate	34.87	55	Fair Value
S&P 500 Utilities	19.68	74.20	Overvalued
S&P 500 Financials	16.05	83.30	Expensive
S&P 500 Energy	15.38	50.80	Fair Value

Definition: Forward P/E Ratio

The forward P/E ratio for S&P 500 Communication Services 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.