John Wiley & Sons (WLY) reported higher fiscal fourth-quarter results on Tuesday and said it expects fiscal 2027 results to show further gains.
The publisher reported adjusted earnings of $1.67 a share for the quarter ended April 30, up from $1.37 the year before. Revenue improved 1% to $447.9 million and was flat at a constant currency rate.
"Fiscal 2026 was Wiley's breakout year," Chief Executive Matthew Kissner said in a statement. "We accelerated our two reinforcing growth engines -- research and (artificial intelligence) and data analytics -- while delivering record margins and a significant step change in free cash flow."
For fiscal 2027, the company anticipates adjusted EPS of $4.60 to $5.05, compared with $4.19 recorded in fiscal 2026. Organic revenue is pegged to grow by a low- to mid-single-digit, including mid-single-digit gain in the research segment.
Shares of Wiley rose 1% in Tuesday trade, and year-to-date the stock has gained more than 40%.
Revenue in the research segment improved 5% to $295.6 million in the fourth quarter. Within the business, research publishing was up 5% at constant currency terms, mainly boosted by robust growth in gold open access and AI licensing, partially offset by a 4% constant currency decline in research solutions amid a soft recruitment market.
"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," Kissner said. "AI revenue grew double digits to nearly $50 million with a rapidly expanding recurring stream."
In the learning division, revenue fell 6% to $152 million reflecting lower AI licensing revenue in academic and professional, macro headwinds and retail channel softness, according to the company.
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