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The S&P 500's price divided by the trailing 12 months of reported earnings per share. The single most-cited valuation number in equity markets, scraped here from Multpl's daily-updating page.

Why it matters: Where CAPE smooths earnings over a full 10-year cycle, trailing P/E reacts to recent earnings. That makes it noisier — earnings collapses can briefly send P/E to absurd levels (2009 P/E spiked above 70 not because stocks were expensive but because earnings briefly went negative). But it's also the version of P/E everyone in markets actually quotes day-to-day, so you need it to be on the same dashboard as CAPE to read commentary in context.

How to read it: Long-run average is roughly 16-17 (same as CAPE's median, by coincidence — different methodologies, similar central tendency). Below 12 = cheap; above 22-25 = elevated; above 30 = late-cycle territory. Pair it with CAPE. When trailing P/E is much lower than CAPE, the recent earnings cycle is running hot (e.g. 2024-2026 — strong EPS growth pulls trailing P/E below CAPE's view of long-term earning power). When trailing P/E is higher than CAPE, earnings are depressed cyclically and stocks may look cheaper on CAPE than the headline.

Caveats: Sensitive to write-downs, one-offs, and earnings collapses. The 2008-2009 spike is a methodology artifact, not a real valuation regime. Use trailing P/E for "what is the market pricing right now" and CAPE for "what's the normalized valuation through a cycle."