Ranked: P/E Ratios in Emerging vs. Developed Markets

Ranked: P/E Ratios in Emerging vs. Developed Markets

Emerging Markets (EMs) often offer attractive stock valuations, with lower price-to-earning ratios (P/E ratios) that may still deliver strong returns for investors.

In this graphic, the third and final in the EMs Series, Visual Capitalist has partnered with Global X ETFs to explore the P/E ratios of Emerging and Developed Markets.

P/E Ratios

The P/E ratio is among investors’ most common metrics for evaluating investment viability. These ratios compare a company’s current stock price to its earnings per share.

Below is a ranking of 10 markets by their P/E ratio, provided by MSCI:

Essentially, it shows how much investors will pay for each dollar of a company’s earnings. Investors can also extrapolate this ratio to gain the P/E ratios of all companies in a country.

Undervalued Emerging Markets

Trailing P/E ratios can help investors assess if stocks or indexes are overvalued (higher P/E) or undervalued (lower P/E).

Singapore, for example, has the lowest P/E ratio, 15.3, which means that Singaporean companies are likely undervalued compared to their earnings. New Zealand, on the other hand, has the highest P/E ratio, over three times greater than the U.S. P/E ratio–101.4.*

*as of 06/30/2025

EM (excluding China) stocks are generally undervalued compared to their earnings, with their stock prices being around 30% cheaper than their contemporaries in Developed Markets and 40% cheaper than U.S. stocks.

Unlocking Frontier Opportunities

EMs offer attractive valuations compared to their Developed Market counterparts, potentially presenting a compelling opportunity for investors.

Are you interested in exploring the dynamic Emerging Markets landscape?

The Global X Emerging Markets ex-China ETF (EMM) seeks to invest in companies, excluding those in China, that can achieve or maintain a dominant position within their respective markets.

Learn more about the Global X Emerging Markets ex-China ETF (EMM).