S&P 500 Materials Forward PE Ratio

The S&P 500 Materials currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 19.05 as of October 24, 2025.

Over the past five years, the median forward P/E has been 20.4, putting today's valuation close to the median of that range. Looking at the longer 10-year period, where the median sits at 18.85, the current reading ranks close to the median - a level historically associated with Fair Value pricing.

Since February 2009, the S&P 500 Materials has recorded a median forward P/E ratio of 17.9 over 17 years. Against this full historical backdrop, the current valuation sits in the 63.2th percentile of all recorded readings, indicating that the market is trading moderately above its long-term median.

Historical P/E Comparison

The table below compares the forward P/E Ratio (19.05) with its historical median and percentile rankings.

Time Period	Median PE Ratio	Percentile Rank	Valuation
1 Year	20.85	8.3	Attractive
5 Year	20.4	43.3	Fair Value
10 Year	18.85	54.2	Fair Value
Since Feb 2009	17.9	63.2	Overvalued

Trailing P/E for S&P 500 Materials

Returns vs P/E Ratio

Over the past decade, the PE rose from 13.3 (21.7th percentile) to 19.05 (54.2th percentile). Annualized total return over this period was 7.2%. Percentile rank indicates position within the historical distribution. At fair value, outcomes have historically varied; near-term paths can be mixed while longer-horizon returns tend to cluster around historical averages.

Time Period	Starting PE Ratio	Starting Percentile	Total Return	Annualized Return
1 Year	23.76	92.6	-6.8%	-6.8%
3 Year	12.84	12.5	+24.2%	+7.5%
5 Year	18.92	81.3	+35.1%	+6.2%
10 Year	13.3	21.7	+100.1%	+7.2%

Historical Data (2009-2025)

Date	Forward PE Ratio
Oct 2025	19.05
Sep 2025	20.31
Aug 2025	20.79
Jul 2025	19.69
Jun 2025	20.91
May 2025	20.49
Apr 2025	19.93
Mar 2025	21.28
Feb 2025	21.91
Jan 2025	21.95
Dec 2024	22.28
Nov 2024	25.01
Oct 2024	24.65
Sep 2024	26.56
Aug 2024	25.93
Jul 2024	25.37
Jun 2024	24.45
May 2024	25.27
Apr 2024	24.52
Mar 2024	26.50
Feb 2024	24.95
Jan 2024	23.48
Dec 2023	25.37
Nov 2023	24.32
Oct 2023	22.50
Sep 2023	22.81
Aug 2023	24.02
Jul 2023	24.88
Jun 2023	23.18
May 2023	20.92
Apr 2023	22.52
Mar 2023	20.76
Feb 2023	21.04
Jan 2023	21.80
Dec 2022	18.26
Nov 2022	19.38
Oct 2022	17.38
Sep 2022	15.29
Aug 2022	16.92
Jul 2022	17.56
Jun 2022	15.19
May 2022	17.68
Apr 2022	17.51
Mar 2022	16.95
Feb 2022	16.01
Jan 2022	16.25
Dec 2021	16.47
Nov 2021	15.35
Oct 2021	15.45
Sep 2021	13.94
Aug 2021	15.06
Jul 2021	14.80
Jun 2021	15.09
May 2021	15.97
Apr 2021	15.21
Mar 2021	15.97
Feb 2021	14.88
Jan 2021	14.36
Dec 2020	16.19
Nov 2020	15.82
Oct 2020	14.10
Sep 2020	16.74
Aug 2020	16.56
Jul 2020	15.89
Jun 2020	18.96
May 2020	18.62
Apr 2020	17.45
Mar 2020	17.58
Feb 2020	20.52
Jan 2020	22.47
Dec 2019	26.34
Nov 2019	25.61
Oct 2019	24.90
Sep 2019	24.25
Aug 2019	23.56
Jul 2019	24.31
Jun 2019	22.23
May 2019	19.94
Apr 2019	21.78
Mar 2019	20.07
Feb 2019	19.89
Jan 2019	19.31
Dec 2018	17.67
Nov 2018	19.04
Oct 2018	18.34
Sep 2018	19.24
Aug 2018	19.69
Jul 2018	19.84
Jun 2018	17.79
May 2018	17.76
Apr 2018	17.45
Mar 2018	16.26
Feb 2018	17.02
Jan 2018	18.01
Dec 2017	17.90
Nov 2017	17.59
Oct 2017	17.46
Sep 2017	17.73
Aug 2017	17.15
Jul 2017	17.02
Jun 2017	18.41
May 2017	18.13
Apr 2017	18.18
Mar 2017	18.85
Feb 2017	18.81
Jan 2017	18.72
Dec 2016	18.84
Nov 2016	18.86
Oct 2016	17.70
Sep 2016	18.52
Aug 2016	18.80
Jul 2016	18.85
Jun 2016	17.93
May 2016	18.13
Apr 2016	18.23
Mar 2016	21.32
Feb 2016	19.86
Jan 2016	18.50
Dec 2015	25.28
Nov 2015	26.46
Oct 2015	26.30
Sep 2015	30.21
Aug 2015	32.70
Jul 2015	34.71
Jun 2015	42.35
May 2015	44.19
Apr 2015	44.08
Mar 2015	35.60
Feb 2015	37.47
Jan 2015	34.76
Dec 2014	26.97
Nov 2014	27.21
Oct 2014	26.89
Sep 2014	22.29
Aug 2014	22.69
Jul 2014	21.91
Jun 2014	21.28
May 2014	20.97
Apr 2014	20.39
Mar 2014	18.54
Feb 2014	18.43
Jan 2014	17.28
Dec 2013	18.11
Nov 2013	17.32
Oct 2013	17.14
Sep 2013	17.03
Aug 2013	16.35
Jul 2013	16.38
Jun 2013	17.02
May 2013	17.83
Apr 2013	17.53
Mar 2013	17.38
Feb 2013	17.01
Jan 2013	17.31
Dec 2012	16.97
Nov 2012	16.50
Oct 2012	16.26
Sep 2012	16.87
Aug 2012	16.29
Jul 2012	15.93
Jun 2012	14.72
May 2012	14.08
Apr 2012	15.30
Mar 2012	15.72
Feb 2012	15.70
Jan 2012	15.79
Dec 2011	15.17
Nov 2011	15.53
Oct 2011	15.55
Sep 2011	12.55
Aug 2011	15.05
Jul 2011	16.16
Jun 2011	15.67
May 2011	15.74
Apr 2011	16.21
Mar 2011	15.17
Feb 2011	14.92
Jan 2011	14.56
Dec 2010	13.30
Nov 2010	12.08
Oct 2010	11.97
Sep 2010	11.67
Aug 2010	10.85
Jul 2010	11.17
Jun 2010	11.25
May 2010	12.11
Apr 2010	13.40
Mar 2010	15.11
Feb 2010	14.04
Jan 2010	13.48
Dec 2009	16.36
Nov 2009	16.13
Oct 2009	14.49
Sep 2009	16.66
Aug 2009	15.91
Jul 2009	15.60
Jun 2009	16.45
May 2009	17.30
Apr 2009	16.39
Mar 2009	18.58
Feb 2009	16.16

Sector Comparison

The table below shows a comparison of the forward P/E Ratio (19.05) 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 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 Materials 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.