YouGov – pollster group’s shares at 284.50p offer good upside, 2025 Final Results due tomorrow, average TP 557p

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 13.10.2025

Last week the shares of YouGov (LON:YOU) closed weaker at 284.50p, which is 33% down over the last year.

However, I now ask whether the fall has been overdone?

Tomorrow morning sees the pollster group, which claims to have one of the world’s largest research networks, reporting its Final Results for the year to end-July.

I do expect a certain positivity to be shown by its re-shaped Management for the current year and going forward.

Which could be enough to rekindle interest in the group’s shares, that on the basis of broker estimates look cheap to me.

The Business

The £332m-capitalised company, which was founded in 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadim Zahawi, declares that its mission is to offer unparalleled insight into what the world thinks and does.

The group states that its innovative solutions help the world’s most recognised brands, media owners and agencies to plan, activate and track their marketing activities better.

The company claims that its purpose is to give the world a voice through its global community by collecting, measuring and analysing their opinions and behaviours and reporting the findings accurately and free from bias.

Employing some 1,800 people, it boasts of having one of the world's largest research networks, with operations in the UK (with 2 offices), the Americas (8), Europe (15), the Middle East and India (4) and the Asia Pacific (8).

The core of its platform is an ever-growing source of connected consumer data that has developed daily over the last couple of decades or so of operation.

The group, which refers to it as living data, is drawn upon the detailed understanding of its 27m registered panel members to deliver accurate, actionable consumer insights.

The group has over 4,300 clients worldwide and claims to be the most quoted market research source worldwide.

The Equity

There are some 116.8m shares in issue, with institutions owning around 73% of the share capital.

The larger holders include abrdn Investment Management (7.28%), Octopus Investments (7.16%), Brown Capital Management (4.88%), Liontrust Asset Management (4.70%), T Rowe Price Global Investments (4.03%), Rathbone Investment Management (3.56%), BlackRock Investment Management (3.33%), Investec Wealth & Investment (2.92%), Columbia Management Investment Advisers (2.08%), and Threadneedle Asset Management (1.98%).

Broker Views

Some six analysts follow the company, four of whom rate the shares as a Buy, while the other two say Hold.

The consensus average Target Price is 557p, the lowest 340p, while the highest is for 760p.

Edward James, analyst at Berenberg, considers 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."

JP Morgan has a Neutral stance on the shares with a 385p Target Price.

Panmure Liberum analysts are looking for the end-July 2025 results to show sales of £384m (£335m), adjusted operating profits of £59.5m (£49.6m), with pre-tax profits of £48.2m (£45.0m).

In My View

I look for the group to state that it is getting on well with its cost savings programme, as well as giving clear signs that, despite still challenging environments, its current year visibility is a lot stronger.

The shares at 284.50p offer risk-tolerant investors a useful ‘recovery’ upside, with 400p being a good level at which to aim.

Global pollster