Is the market expensive?
What you pay for earnings shapes what you can expect to earn over the long run. Splitting the index into its giants and everyone else shows whether the whole market is pricey or just the few companies that dominate it.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Pricey
The S&P 500 trades at 26.3 times the past year’s earnings, higher than on 60% of days since 2016. The ten largest companies trade at 27x and the other 490 at 26x. On next year’s estimates the index is at 20.8x. On Robert Shiller’s ten-year measure, the CAPE is 40.6, higher than in 99% of months since 1881.
Over time
Select any measure or sector. Score compares today with the history since 2016; Value is the P/E itself. The last two tiles reach back to the 1870s.
Sector by sector
Each sector’s price to earnings, scored against its own history since 2016. Forward uses analysts’ estimates for next year. Select a column to sort.
| Sector | vs its history | P/E now | Median since 2016 | Forward | P/E, 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Health Care 59 companies | 93Expensive | 35.1x | 25.1x | 21.5x | |
Consumer Staples 36 companies | 86Expensive | 30.1x | 25.5x | 22.6x | |
Industrials 80 companies | 70Pricey | 27.2x | 22.3x | 25.4x | |
Information Technology 72 companies | 68Pricey | 34.4x | 28.1x | 24.4x | |
Materials 26 companies | 60Fair | 27.6x | 23.2x | 18.2x | |
Energy 21 companies | 59Fair | 18.3x | 16.8x | 12.1x | |
Financials 76 companies | 39Fair | 16.1x | 16.4x | 15.6x | |
Real Estate 31 companies | 29Fair | 34.5x | 36.2x | 34.7x | |
Consumer Discretionary 48 companies | 20Cheap | 27.8x | 31.0x | 23.1x | |
Communication Services 20 companies | 18Cheap | 18.4x | 24.6x | 17.3x | |
Utilities 31 companies | 6Cheap | 18.8x | 22.6x | 16.5x |
How to read this page
How it’s measured. Price to trailing twelve-month earnings for the S&P 500 as it stood on each day: total market value over total earnings, so larger companies count for more. Scores compare each reading with its own history since 2016; 100 is the most expensive.
Sources. Daily prices and company financial statements from Financial Modeling Prep.
Earnings are as reported over the last twelve months, including one-off items. Market value uses each company’s diluted share count, so the figures differ slightly from published index P/Es.
Valuation is a poor timing tool: expensive markets can stay expensive for years. It matters more for returns over a decade than over the next few months.
This page is information, not investment advice. About our data and methods ›