John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $386.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.20 million. John Wiley & Sons had a return on equity of 29.01% and a net margin of 13.22%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. John Wiley & Sons updated its FY 2027 guidance to 4.600-5.050 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from John Wiley & Sons’ conference call:

• Research momentum remained strong, with publishing revenue up 12%, submissions up 31%, output up 8%, and customer retention above 99%. Management reaffirmed its mid-single-digit research growth outlook, supported by open access, journal renewals, and the Emerald acquisition.
• AI revenue reached $14 million in Q1, with another $14 million already contracted for Q2 and Q3. Wiley maintained its goal of exceeding $50 million in fiscal 2027 AI revenue, although licensing activity remains uneven and lumpy.
• Emerald integration is running ahead of schedule, with early cost synergy capture and AI licensing interest. Wiley continues to expect the acquisition to be EPS-accretive in year one and to deliver $30 million of annual cost synergies by year three.
• Learning revenue declined 20%, reflecting weak professional and retail demand, lower assessments activity, print declines, and difficult comparisons against prior-year AI licensing revenue. The segment’s adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 15.1% from 27.4%, though management expects trends to improve as the year progresses.
• Despite the weak first quarter, management reaffirmed full-year guidance for low- to mid-single-digit organic revenue growth, a 26.5%–27.5% adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted EPS of $4.60–$5.05, and $205 million of free cash flow. Corporate adjusted EBITDA expenses fell 19%, and the company raised its dividend for the 33rd consecutive year.

John Wiley & Sons Stock Performance

Shares of John Wiley & Sons stock opened at $51.09 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.51. John Wiley & Sons has a one year low of $28.38 and a one year high of $57.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.78.

John Wiley & Sons Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th were given a $0.3575 dividend. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 7th. This is a positive change from John Wiley & Sons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. John Wiley & Sons’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.81%.

Trending Headlines about John Wiley & Sons

Here are the key news stories impacting John Wiley & Sons this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wiley reported adjusted EPS of $0.44, exceeding the $0.40 analyst consensus, while revenue of $386.36 million also topped expectations of $380.20 million. The earnings beat helped support the shares. John Wiley & Sons Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management updated fiscal 2027 EPS guidance to $4.60-$5.05. The midpoint of $4.825 is slightly above the $4.80 consensus estimate, suggesting expectations remain intact despite near-term pressure. Wiley Reports First Quarter 2027 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company reaffirmed its full-year outlook and attributed much of the quarterly earnings volatility to restructuring charges, making the adjusted results more favorable than the headline GAAP figures.
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP diluted EPS was a loss of $0.23, compared with a $0.22 profit a year earlier, primarily because of restructuring costs. Operating income also fell to $3 million from $31 million. Wiley Turns to Q1 Loss, Revenue Declines; Confirms Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined approximately 3% year over year from $397 million, and adjusted EPS fell from $0.49 in the prior-year quarter. The weaker underlying growth and lower profitability could limit upside even with the earnings beat.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WLY shares. Zacks Research cut John Wiley & Sons from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded John Wiley & Sons from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Wiley & Sons

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 13.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in John Wiley & Sons by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in John Wiley & Sons by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 122,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,456,000 after purchasing an additional 6,928 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 14,320.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 158,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,068,000 after buying an additional 157,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of John Wiley & Sons in the first quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.94% of the company’s stock.

About John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, Inc is a global publishing and educational services company founded in 1807 and headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey. The company operates through two primary segments: Research & Publishing and Education. Through these segments, Wiley produces a wide range of scholarly journals, books, reference works and digital products for academic, scientific, technical and medical markets, as well as professional development and higher education learning resources.

In its Research & Publishing segment, Wiley publishes thousands of peer-reviewed journals and maintains the Wiley Online Library, a leading platform for scientific and scholarly content.