If you have ever wondered whether Manchester United's stock price matches your view of the club's global stature, this is a good moment to look closely at what the market is actually paying for the shares.
The stock recently closed at US$16.99, with a 7.7% return year to date, a 5.9% return over 1 year, a 6.4% gain over 30 days, but a 4.4% decline over the last week and a 33.1% decline over 3 years, which gives a mixed picture for investors weighing potential and risk.
Recent coverage has continued to focus on Manchester United's on field performance, ownership discussions, and broader sentiment around the club's commercial strength, all of which can influence how investors think about the shares. These storylines help frame why the stock has seen varied returns across different time frames, as expectations and risk perceptions shift with each development.
On our valuation framework, Manchester United scores 2 out of 6 checks for being undervalued, which you can see in detail at this valuation scorecard. Next, we will unpack the main valuation approaches behind that score before finishing with a different way to think about what the stock might be worth.
Manchester United scores just 2/6 on our valuation checks. See what other red flags we found in the full valuation breakdown.
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Approach 1: Manchester United Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
A DCF model estimates what a company could be worth by projecting the cash it may generate in the future, then discounting those cash flows back to a single value today.
For Manchester United, the latest twelve month free cash flow is a loss of £147.10 million. The model then uses a 2 stage Free Cash Flow to Equity approach, with analyst input and Simply Wall St extrapolations. For example, free cash flow for 2026 is projected at £57 million and rises in the model to about £305.81 million by 2035, with intermediate years such as 2027 at £174 million and 2028 at £200 million. Each of these future amounts is discounted back to today using cash flow projections in £, even though the share price is quoted in US$.
Adding these discounted cash flows together gives an estimated intrinsic value of US$22.60 per share. Compared with the recent share price of US$16.99, the model implies the stock is about 24.8% undervalued.
Result: UNDERVALUED
Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Manchester United is undervalued by 24.8%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 55 more high quality undervalued stocks.
MANU Discounted Cash Flow as at Feb 2026
MANU Discounted Cash Flow as at Feb 2026
Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for Manchester United.
Approach 2: Manchester United Price vs Sales
For companies where revenue is a key driver of the story, the P/S ratio can be a useful way to think about value, because it compares what the market is paying to the sales the business is already generating, regardless of current profit levels.
What counts as a "normal" P/S ratio usually reflects how quickly investors expect sales to grow and how much risk they see in those revenues. Higher expected growth and lower perceived risk can support a higher multiple, while slower growth or higher risk tends to justify a lower one.
Manchester United currently trades on a P/S of 3.26x. That is higher than the Entertainment industry average of 1.32x and above the peer group average of 1.95x. Simply Wall St also provides a Fair Ratio estimate of 2.11x, which is its proprietary view of what a reasonable P/S might be once factors like revenue growth prospects, margins, industry, market cap and specific risks are considered.
This Fair Ratio can be more informative than a simple peer or industry comparison, because it adjusts for the company’s own characteristics rather than assuming that all Entertainment stocks deserve similar multiples. Set against the current 3.26x, the Fair Ratio of 2.11x suggests the shares trade at a richer level than that model implies.
Result: OVERVALUED
NYSE:MANU P/S Ratio as at Feb 2026
NYSE:MANU P/S Ratio as at Feb 2026
P/S ratios tell one story, but what if the real opportunity lies elsewhere? Start investing in legacies, not executives. Discover our 22 top founder-led companies.
Upgrade Your Decision Making: Choose your Manchester United Narrative
Earlier we mentioned that there is an even better way to think about valuation, so let us bring in Narratives, a simple tool that lets you put a clear story behind the numbers by linking your view on a company to explicit assumptions for future revenue, earnings, margins and an estimated fair value.
A Narrative connects three things you care about: what you think is happening with the business, how that might flow through a financial forecast, and what that implies the shares could reasonably be worth today. This helps you directly compare Fair Value to the current price when you are deciding whether to buy, hold or sell.
On Simply Wall St, Narratives live in the Community page, where millions of investors already use them. They refresh automatically when new information such as fresh earnings, transfer news or sponsorship updates is added to the platform, so your story and numbers stay aligned without much effort from you.
For Manchester United, one Narrative might assume strong commercial resilience and place fair value above the current price, while another could focus on competitive and financial risks and set fair value below where the shares trade today.
Do you think there's more to the story for Manchester United? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
NYSE:MANU 1-Year Stock Price Chart
NYSE:MANU 1-Year Stock Price Chart
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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