S&P 500 Utilities Forward PE Ratio

The S&P 500 Utilities currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 19.68 as of October 24, 2025.

Over the past five years, the median forward P/E has been 19.09, putting today's valuation in the 61.7th percentile of that range. Looking at the longer 10-year period, where the median sits at 18.32, the current reading ranks in the 74.2th percentile - a level historically associated with Overvalued pricing.

Since May 2009, the S&P 500 Utilities has recorded a median forward P/E ratio of 17.29 over 16 years. Against this full historical backdrop, the current valuation sits in the 80.8th 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 (19.68) with its historical median and percentile rankings.

Time Period	Median PE Ratio	Percentile Rank	Valuation
1 Year	18.49	91.7	Expensive
5 Year	19.09	61.7	Overvalued
10 Year	18.32	74.2	Overvalued
Since May 2009	17.29	80.8	Expensive

Trailing P/E for S&P 500 Utilities

Returns vs P/E Ratio

Over the past decade, the PE rose from 14.6 (58.6th percentile) to 19.68 (74.2th percentile). Annualized total return over this period was 7.4%. 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	21.69	96.8	+11.2%	+11.2%
3 Year	18.09	80.9	+42.8%	+12.6%
5 Year	18.14	89.6	+40.8%	+7.1%
10 Year	14.62	58.6	+103.3%	+7.4%

Historical Data (2009-2025)

Date	Forward PE Ratio
Oct 2025	19.68
Sep 2025	19.09
Aug 2025	18.36
Jul 2025	18.74
Jun 2025	18.56
May 2025	18.54
Apr 2025	17.94
Mar 2025	18.45
Feb 2025	18.44
Jan 2025	18.23
Dec 2024	18.35
Nov 2024	19.96
Oct 2024	19.34
Sep 2024	19.99
Aug 2024	18.78
Jul 2024	18.01
Jun 2024	16.81
May 2024	17.83
Apr 2024	16.44
Mar 2024	15.86
Feb 2024	14.91
Jan 2024	14.84
Dec 2023	15.59
Nov 2023	15.33
Oct 2023	14.67
Sep 2023	15.04
Aug 2023	15.97
Jul 2023	17.12
Jun 2023	16.77
May 2023	16.52
Apr 2023	17.65
Mar 2023	18.17
Feb 2023	17.36
Jan 2023	18.55
Dec 2022	20.32
Nov 2022	20.48
Oct 2022	19.23
Sep 2022	19.47
Aug 2022	22.01
Jul 2022	21.99
Jun 2022	22.52
May 2022	23.74
Apr 2022	22.87
Mar 2022	24.23
Feb 2022	22.02
Jan 2022	22.54
Dec 2021	23.23
Nov 2021	21.25
Oct 2021	21.71
Sep 2021	21.06
Aug 2021	22.51
Jul 2021	21.75
Jun 2021	20.85
May 2021	21.37
Apr 2021	21.98
Mar 2021	21.01
Feb 2021	19.08
Jan 2021	20.41
Dec 2020	19.62
Nov 2020	19.54
Oct 2020	19.49
Sep 2020	18.43
Aug 2020	18.28
Jul 2020	18.87
Jun 2020	16.83
May 2020	17.71
Apr 2020	17.05
Mar 2020	17.83
Feb 2020	19.86
Jan 2020	22.15
Dec 2019	21.36
Nov 2019	20.71
Oct 2019	21.20
Sep 2019	21.12
Aug 2019	20.32
Jul 2019	19.41
Jun 2019	20.02
May 2019	19.42
Apr 2019	19.67
Mar 2019	18.60
Feb 2019	18.12
Jan 2019	17.50
Dec 2018	17.78
Nov 2018	18.58
Oct 2018	18.03
Sep 2018	17.61
Aug 2018	17.77
Jul 2018	17.67
Jun 2018	17.23
May 2018	16.82
Apr 2018	17.11
Mar 2018	16.41
Feb 2018	15.87
Jan 2018	16.59
Dec 2017	16.36
Nov 2017	17.47
Oct 2017	17.09
Sep 2017	16.95
Aug 2017	17.48
Jul 2017	17.02
Jun 2017	17.09
May 2017	17.61
Apr 2017	16.99
Mar 2017	17.68
Feb 2017	17.77
Jan 2017	16.97
Dec 2016	17.56
Nov 2016	16.79
Oct 2016	17.85
Sep 2016	17.37
Aug 2016	17.35
Jul 2016	18.48
Jun 2016	19.13
May 2016	17.80
Apr 2016	17.63
Mar 2016	18.19
Feb 2016	16.89
Jan 2016	16.66
Dec 2015	19
Nov 2015	18.65
Oct 2015	19.18
Sep 2015	20.13
Aug 2015	19.62
Jul 2015	20.44
Jun 2015	18.77
May 2015	20.03
Apr 2015	20.02
Mar 2015	19.80
Feb 2015	20.06
Jan 2015	21.56
Dec 2014	17.14
Nov 2014	16.60
Oct 2014	16.48
Sep 2014	15.01
Aug 2014	15.34
Jul 2014	14.69
Jun 2014	16.16
May 2014	15.51
Apr 2014	15.77
Mar 2014	15.73
Feb 2014	15.26
Jan 2014	14.84
Dec 2013	14.60
Nov 2013	14.52
Oct 2013	14.87
Sep 2013	14.79
Aug 2013	14.68
Jul 2013	15.54
Jun 2013	14.63
May 2013	14.54
Apr 2013	16.09
Mar 2013	16.17
Feb 2013	15.38
Jan 2013	15.14
Dec 2012	14.37
Nov 2012	14.41
Oct 2012	15.16
Sep 2012	15.56
Aug 2012	15.42
Jul 2012	16.20
Jun 2012	16.08
May 2012	15.49
Apr 2012	15.51
Mar 2012	14.68
Feb 2012	14.53
Jan 2012	14.54
Dec 2011	15.52
Nov 2011	15.06
Oct 2011	14.99
Sep 2011	13.92
Aug 2011	13.94
Jul 2011	13.70
Jun 2011	13.64
May 2011	13.71
Apr 2011	13.49
Mar 2011	12.82
Feb 2011	12.84
Jan 2011	12.75
Dec 2010	12.78
Nov 2010	12.43
Oct 2010	12.90
Sep 2010	12.80
Aug 2010	12.48
Jul 2010	12.37
Jun 2010	11.72
May 2010	11.84
Apr 2010	12.61
Mar 2010	12.05
Feb 2010	11.77
Jan 2010	11.99
Dec 2009	12.51
Nov 2009	11.89
Oct 2009	11.42
Sep 2009	12.09
Aug 2009	11.96
Jul 2009	11.94
Jun 2009	11.65
May 2009	11.09

Sector Comparison

The table below shows a comparison of the forward P/E Ratio (19.68) 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 Communication Services	21.43	84.20	Expensive
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 Utilities 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.