John Wiley & Sons Inc - Class A
Q4 2026 Earnings
Market Reaction
S&P 500 over the same 30 days: −1.10%.
Did WLY Beat Earnings? Q4 2026 Results
John Wiley & Sons closed fiscal Q4 2026 with a narrow earnings beat and a slight revenue miss, posting adjusted EPS of $1.67 against the $1.65 consensus estimate, a 1.21% beat, while revenue of $447.94 million fell just 0.46% short of the $450.00 million estimate but still grew 1.2% year over year. The headline story, however, was margin expansion, with adjusted EBITDA surging to $148.73 million and margin widening 480 basis points to 33.2%, driven by a 22% constant-currency reduction in corporate expenses and strong Research segment growth of 5%. AI and data analytics revenue grew 23% to $49.00 million for the full fiscal year, underscoring a strategic pivot that management expects to accelerate, with AI recurring revenue projected to grow two to three times from its $8.00 million base in FY2027. Looking ahead, Wiley guided FY2027 adjusted EPS of $4.60 to $5.05, organic revenue growth at low-to-mid single digits, and free cash flow of $205.00 million, with the recently completed $452.00 million Emerald Publishing acquisition adding roughly $78.00 million in revenue over eleven months.
- Strong growth in gold open access and AI licensing in Research Publishing
- Material reduction in corporate expenses (-22% in Q4 at constant currency) driving margin expansion
- Record submissions (up 25%) and output (up 11%) well above market average
- Growth in recurring revenue models including subscriptions and transformational agreements
- Cost discipline and restructuring savings expanding margins across all segments
- Lower capex ($65M vs. $77M in prior year) contributing to free cash flow growth
“Fiscal 2026 was Wiley's breakout year. We accelerated our two reinforcing growth engines — Research and AI and data analytics – while delivering record margins and a significant step change in Free Cash Flow. Research delivered mid-single digit growth on record submissions and output, and the recent acquisition of Emerald Publishing further extends our scale and proprietary content advantage in the AI economy. AI revenue grew double digits to nearly $50 million with a rapidly expanding recurring stream, anchored by landmark partnerships with IQVIA and OpenEvidence and a growing roster of corporate customers. With momentum across both growth engines and a proven playbook, we enter Fiscal 2027 with our strongest conviction yet.”
John Wiley & Sons CEO, on the earnings call
Forward Guidance & Outlook
For fiscal 2027, Wiley expects organic revenue growth at low-to-mid single digit levels (with Research at mid-single digit growth), excluding the Emerald acquisition impact of approximately $78 million in revenue (11 months). Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to expand to 26.5%-27.5%. Adjusted EPS is guided at $4.60 to $5.05, with growth driven by higher Adjusted Operating Income moderated by a higher tax rate. Free Cash Flow is expected to reach $205 million, with growth from higher cash earnings partially offset by year-1 dilution from Emerald ($15 million), higher capex ($80 million vs. $65 million in FY26), expected restructuring costs, and higher cash taxes. Emerald is expected to be accretive to Adjusted EPS by approximately $0.10 and to turn Free Cash Flow accretive in fiscal 2028. AI recurring revenue is expected to grow 2-3x from the $8 million base.
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Figures from SEC filings and company reports. Not investment advice.