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Is the Stock Market Overvalued in 2026?

Market-wide PE ratio analysis across sectors and market cap tiers. Data-driven answers, updated daily.

Market Median PE Ratio17.6xHistorical average: ~16x — 10% above average

Based on 13002 actively traded companies

Market PE Gauge

Where does the current market PE sit relative to historical ranges?

8x40x17.6x PE
CheapFair ValueExpensive

Sector Valuation Heat Map

Which sectors are cheap, fairly valued, or expensive based on median PE ratios?

Basic Materials

fair
15.5x
Median PE · 1282 companies

Communication Services

fair
17.0x
Median PE · 466 companies

Consumer Cyclical

fair
18.3x
Median PE · 1597 companies

Consumer Defensive

fair
19.3x
Median PE · 757 companies

Energy

cheap
11.6x
Median PE · 561 companies

Financial Services

cheap
12.0x
Median PE · 2193 companies

Healthcare

expensive
24.8x
Median PE · 993 companies

Industrials

fair
17.1x
Median PE · 2379 companies

Real Estate

fair
18.2x
Median PE · 785 companies

Technology

expensive
24.5x
Median PE · 1557 companies

Utilities

fair
15.8x
Median PE · 432 companies

Valuation by Market Cap

Average PE ratios across mega, large, mid, and small cap stocks

Mega Cap (>$200B)
29.1x
Avg PE · 2839 stocks
Large Cap ($10B–$200B)
29.5x
Avg PE · 7064 stocks
Mid Cap ($2B–$10B)
30.8x
Avg PE · 3030 stocks
Small Cap (<$2B)
22.6x
Avg PE · 1718 stocks

Equity Risk Premium

Earnings yield (inverse of PE) vs. the 10-year Treasury rate

Earnings Yield (1/PE)
5.7%
10-Year Treasury
~4.5%
Equity Risk Premium
1.2%

Stocks offer a reasonable premium over risk-free Treasuries.

What Does the Market PE Ratio Mean?

The price-to-earnings (PE) ratio measures how much investors pay per dollar of corporate earnings. A market-wide PE aggregates this across hundreds of public companies, giving a snapshot of overall stock market valuation.

The long-term average PE for the S&P 500 is roughly 16x. When the market PE significantly exceeds this, stocks are generally considered expensive — future returns tend to be lower. When PE is well below average, it often signals better long-term value.

However, PE alone doesn't tell the whole story. Interest rates, earnings growth expectations, and sector composition all influence fair valuations. That's why we break down PE by sector and market cap — so you can see where the opportunities and risks actually lie.

Read our deep dive on PE ratio history and what it means for investors →

Go Beyond Market Averages

Analyze any stock with DCF valuation, PE benchmarks, growth rates, and AI-powered evaluation.