S&P 500 Health Care Forward PE Ratio

The S&P 500 Health Care currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 17.59 as of October 24, 2025.

Over the past five years, the median forward P/E has been 20.75, putting today's valuation in the 13.3th percentile of that range. Looking at the longer 10-year period, where the median sits at 19.26, the current reading ranks in the 7.5th percentile - a level historically associated with Attractive pricing.

Since June 2009, the S&P 500 Health Care has recorded a median forward P/E ratio of 18.69 over 16 years. Against this full historical backdrop, the current valuation sits in the 31.5th percentile of all recorded readings, indicating that the market is trading moderately below its long-term median.

Historical P/E Comparison

The table below compares the forward P/E Ratio (17.59) with its historical median and percentile rankings.

Time Period	Median PE Ratio	Percentile Rank	Valuation
1 Year	18.4	33.3	Undervalued
5 Year	20.75	13.3	Attractive
10 Year	19.26	7.5	Attractive
Since Jun 2009	18.69	31.5	Undervalued

Trailing P/E for S&P 500 Health Care

Returns vs P/E Ratio

Over the past decade, the PE fell from 19.1 (68.9th percentile) to 17.59 (7.5th percentile). Annualized total return over this period was 8.0%. Percentile rank indicates position within the historical distribution. Lower valuations do not guarantee near-term gains; markets can stay discounted for long, though starting points are generally more supportive for long-horizon outcomes.

Time Period	Starting PE Ratio	Starting Percentile	Total Return	Annualized Return
1 Year	32.91	99.2	-3%	-3%
3 Year	17.38	34.6	+13.2%	+4.2%
5 Year	16.87	32.9	+35.4%	+6.2%
10 Year	19.12	68.9	+116.5%	+8%

Historical Data (2009-2025)

Date	Forward PE Ratio
Oct 2025	17.59
Sep 2025	17.55
Aug 2025	17.27
Jul 2025	16.41
Jun 2025	18.03
May 2025	17.70
Apr 2025	18.77
Mar 2025	20.70
Feb 2025	21.08
Jan 2025	20.80
Dec 2024	20.62
Nov 2024	22.02
Oct 2024	21.99
Sep 2024	23.49
Aug 2024	23.93
Jul 2024	22.79
Jun 2024	22.96
May 2024	22.57
Apr 2024	22.07
Mar 2024	24.76
Feb 2024	24.22
Jan 2024	23.49
Dec 2023	23.36
Nov 2023	22.43
Oct 2023	21.31
Sep 2023	23.33
Aug 2023	24.08
Jul 2023	24.28
Jun 2023	24.26
May 2023	23.29
Apr 2023	24.37
Mar 2023	22.76
Feb 2023	22.30
Jan 2023	23.41
Dec 2022	22.95
Nov 2022	23.43
Oct 2022	22.39
Sep 2022	19.35
Aug 2022	19.90
Jul 2022	21.14
Jun 2022	19.56
May 2022	20.13
Apr 2022	19.87
Mar 2022	20.30
Feb 2022	19.26
Jan 2022	19.48
Dec 2021	20.81
Nov 2021	19.12
Oct 2021	19.73
Sep 2021	18.29
Aug 2021	19.40
Jul 2021	18.97
Jun 2021	18.36
May 2021	17.97
Apr 2021	17.66
Mar 2021	17.32
Feb 2021	16.69
Jan 2021	17.07
Dec 2020	18.06
Nov 2020	17.41
Oct 2020	16.15
Sep 2020	18.38
Aug 2020	18.81
Jul 2020	18.34
Jun 2020	18.50
May 2020	18.99
Apr 2020	18.41
Mar 2020	17.72
Feb 2020	18.46
Jan 2020	19.80
Dec 2019	20.55
Nov 2019	19.87
Oct 2019	18.95
Sep 2019	18.64
Aug 2019	18.70
Jul 2019	18.83
Jun 2019	19.27
May 2019	18.09
Apr 2019	18.57
Mar 2019	18.99
Feb 2019	18.92
Jan 2019	18.73
Dec 2018	18.20
Nov 2018	19.94
Oct 2018	18.66
Sep 2018	20.13
Aug 2018	19.58
Jul 2018	18.79
Jun 2018	18.43
May 2018	18.16
Apr 2018	18.16
Mar 2018	18.69
Feb 2018	19.31
Jan 2018	20.24
Dec 2017	19.32
Nov 2017	19.47
Oct 2017	18.96
Sep 2017	19.83
Aug 2017	19.66
Jul 2017	19.35
Jun 2017	19.51
May 2017	18.67
Apr 2017	18.56
Mar 2017	18.95
Feb 2017	19.06
Jan 2017	17.95
Dec 2016	18.01
Nov 2016	17.90
Oct 2016	17.60
Sep 2016	19.14
Aug 2016	19.26
Jul 2016	19.96
Jun 2016	19.41
May 2016	19.25
Apr 2016	18.87
Mar 2016	18.36
Feb 2016	17.89
Jan 2016	18.02
Dec 2015	20
Nov 2015	19.68
Oct 2015	19.80
Sep 2015	18.89
Aug 2015	20.06
Jul 2015	21.81
Jun 2015	21.92
May 2015	22.01
Apr 2015	21.09
Mar 2015	21.58
Feb 2015	21.42
Jan 2015	20.57
Dec 2014	20.68
Nov 2014	20.98
Oct 2014	20.34
Sep 2014	19.63
Aug 2014	19.57
Jul 2014	18.69
Jun 2014	18.76
May 2014	18.38
Apr 2014	17.92
Mar 2014	18.81
Feb 2014	19.07
Jan 2014	18
Dec 2013	18.26
Nov 2013	18.14
Oct 2013	17.36
Sep 2013	17.01
Aug 2013	16.51
Jul 2013	17.13
Jun 2013	16.65
May 2013	16.80
Apr 2013	16.57
Mar 2013	16.35
Feb 2013	15.39
Jan 2013	15.22
Dec 2012	14.46
Nov 2012	14.51
Oct 2012	14.47
Sep 2012	14.69
Aug 2012	14.15
Jul 2012	14.04
Jun 2012	13.99
May 2012	13.25
Apr 2012	13.78
Mar 2012	13.74
Feb 2012	13.17
Jan 2012	13.05
Dec 2011	12.60
Nov 2011	12.26
Oct 2011	12.18
Sep 2011	11.61
Aug 2011	12.17
Jul 2011	12.47
Jun 2011	12.88
May 2011	13.05
Apr 2011	12.77
Mar 2011	12.25
Feb 2011	12.05
Jan 2011	11.71
Dec 2010	11.76
Nov 2010	11.28
Oct 2010	11.64
Sep 2010	11.51
Aug 2010	10.57
Jul 2010	10.77
Jun 2010	11.01
May 2010	11.22
Apr 2010	12.06
Mar 2010	12.82
Feb 2010	12.51
Jan 2010	12.51
Dec 2009	12.85
Nov 2009	12.61
Oct 2009	11.57
Sep 2009	12.06
Aug 2009	11.96
Jul 2009	11.72
Jun 2009	11.34

Sector Comparison

The table below shows a comparison of the forward P/E Ratio (17.59) 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 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 Communication Services	21.43	84.20	Expensive
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 Health Care 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.