YouGov – a continued dislocation of intrinsic value against market value, Finals will help to correct and offer upside
Mark Watson-Mitchell - 08.10.2026
“Our vision is for YouGov to be the
world’s leading provider of marketing and opinion data”
Next Tuesday, 13th October, the international research and data analytics group YouGov (LON:YOU), will release its Final Results for the year to end-July 2026.
The group’s shares have ranged from 291p a year ago, down to 150p in late March this year, then a summer climb in price to 288p by early last month.
Now at 263p, the £308m-capitalised business sees its shares offering some further upside with it 2026 Finals and accompanying statement.
The Business
YouGov is a global research data and analytics group.
Its mission is to offer unparalleled insight into what the world really thinks and does.
The Group has one of the world’s largest research networks, with operations in the US, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia Pacific.
Above all, YouGov is powered by reality.
That stems from a unique panel of millions of registered members across 64 markets, encapsulating some 18m shopping trips and millions of interconnected data points.
Its unique approach to recruiting and engaging with its panel, combined with state-of-the-art technology platforms, enables it to deliver real-world, real-time insights that lead to better decision-making and a competitive advantage for its clients.
As innovators and pioneers of online market research, it has a strong reputation as a trusted source of accurate data and insights.
YouGov data is regularly referenced by the global press, and it is consistently one of the most quoted market research sources in the world.
The Group’s mission is to supply a continuous stream of accurate data and insight into what the world thinks, so that companies, governments and institutions can make informed decisions.
Full-Year Trading Update
On Thursday 6th August the group announced an update for its 2006 trading year to end-July.
It expects its full-year performance to be in line with previous guidance and has successfully launched new products like support for the Model Context Protocol and YouGov Parallax.
The company has also extended its term loan and revolving credit facility to April 2028, with a €20m instalment due in October 2027, providing financial flexibility.
Furthermore, YouGov intends to commence a discretionary share buyback programme in lieu of its FY26 annual dividend, provided the market value remains below its perceived intrinsic value.
The Equity
There are some 117.16m shares in issue, with institutions owning over 70% of the share capital.
The larger holders include Artemis Investment Management (8.90%), abrdn Investment Management (7.21%), Octopus Investments (6.95%), Liontrust Investment Partners (6.11%), Jupiter Asset Management (5.17%), T Rowe Price International (4.85%), Brown Capital Management (4.84%), Rathbones Investment Management (3.56%), BlackRock Investment Management (3.30%), Investec Wealth & Investment (2.90%), and Columbia Management Investment Advisers (2.06%).
Broker’s Views
There are seven firms closely following the Group, six of whom class the shares as a Buy, while the seventh looks for them to Outperform.
The consensus average Target Price is 374p, the Lowest 272p, while the Highest call is for 450p.
Berenberg Bank suggest Buy with a 395p TP; Canaccord Genuity, Buy – 450p TP; Deutsche, Buy TP 350p; JP Morgan Cazenove, Overweight TP 375p; and Panmure Liberum, Buy TP 272p.
Analyst Edward James, at Berenberg, is quoted as saying that:
"The strong underlying trends, coupled with the ongoing development of the platform and product suite, only increase our confidence in YouGov’s short- and medium-term outlook as one of the highest-quality growth stories in the UK market."
My View
Last October I considered that “the shares at 284.50p offered risk-tolerant investors a useful ‘recovery’ upside, with 400p being a good level at which to aim.”
Even the group’s Director’s were buyers of the shares, noting that straight after the October 2025 results date, the CEO bought 39,060 shares @ 256p each, while Non-Exec Ian Griffiths paid 260p for 19,216 shares.
Well, their patience could well be rewarded with a good market reaction to next Tuesday’s corporate message.
Now at 263p, they could well be a fair punt on rising to 300p and above.
(Profile 08.10.26 @ 263p set a 300p Target Price)
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