Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio

A stock's market price divided by the book value per share — what shareholders would theoretically receive if the company were liquidated at accounting values.

Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio — A stock's market price divided by the book value per share — what shareholders would theoretically receive if the company were liquidated at accounting values.

Key facts

Category
Valuation
Definition
A stock's market price divided by the book value per share — what shareholders would theoretically receive if the company were liquidated at accounting values.
Formula
P/B = Market price per share / Book value per share
Live example
/research/stock/JPM
Last updated
2026-06-17

Formula

P/B = Market price per share / Book value per share

Worked example

JPMorgan trades at $200 per share with book value per share of $100. P/B = 2.0 — investors pay $2 in market price for every $1 of net assets.

Interpretive bands

P/B < 1.0
Trading below book value. Common for banks in stress, or signals undervaluation in cyclicals.
P/B 1.0 – 3.0
Normal range for financials and asset-heavy industrials.
P/B > 3.0
Typical for asset-light tech, brand-rich consumer staples. Book value understates value when most assets are intangible.

How IndexAlpha uses Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio

P/B is most useful for banks, insurers, REITs, and asset-heavy industrials. IndexAlpha surfaces it on the Valuation card and flags when a stock trades below book.

See it live

The Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio metric shows up on every IndexAlpha research page. See it now on JPM — or research any stock to view its Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio.

Related terms

Common questions

What is Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio?

A stock's market price divided by the book value per share — what shareholders would theoretically receive if the company were liquidated at accounting values.

How is Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio calculated?

P/B = Market price per share / Book value per share. JPMorgan trades at $200 per share with book value per share of $100. P/B = 2.0 — investors pay $2 in market price for every $1 of net assets.

How does IndexAlpha use Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio?

P/B is most useful for banks, insurers, REITs, and asset-heavy industrials. IndexAlpha surfaces it on the Valuation card and flags when a stock trades below book.

Sources