John Wiley & Sons Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) executives said fiscal third-quarter results were “fully in line” with expectations as the company navigated an unfavorable comparison in research and softer market conditions in learning, while pointing to continued momentum in research publishing, expanding AI-related revenue, and ongoing margin and cash flow improvement.

President and CEO Matt Kissner opened the call by addressing investor concerns about AI disruption, arguing Wiley is positioned to benefit from AI through its proprietary content, peer-review networks, and partnerships. Kissner said AI is expected to accelerate scientific discovery and publishing output, and he framed Wiley’s data and AI offerings as foundational inputs for corporate R&D and AI applications.

Quarterly performance and profitability

CFO Craig Albright said the company had projected a lighter quarter due to unfavorable comparables, and overall revenue came in “as expected,” up 1% on a reported basis and flat at constant currency. He said growth in research publishing and academic was offset by moderate declines in research solutions and professional learning.

Despite revenue softness, Albright emphasized profit and margin gains, citing double-digit increases in key non-GAAP metrics. Adjusted operating income, adjusted EPS, and adjusted EBITDA rose 22%, 19%, and 12%, respectively, with adjusted operating margin improving 280 basis points and adjusted EBITDA margin up 250 basis points. He attributed adjusted EPS growth to operating performance and a lower share count from repurchases, partially offset by a higher adjusted effective tax rate.

Kissner also highlighted cost actions, saying corporate expenses on an adjusted EBITDA basis declined 21% in the quarter, or $9 million, versus the prior year.

Research: publishing growth, renewals, and platform migration

In the research segment, Albright said revenue increased 1% and EBITDA margin improved 40 basis points. He noted research publishing comparisons were impacted by $9 million of AI revenue in the prior-year period; excluding AI revenue, research publishing increased more than 4% on record submissions, solid growth in recurring revenue models, and over double-digit growth in author-funded open access.

Management pointed to continued strength in renewals. Kissner said the calendar 2026 renewal season was about 82% complete and results were encouraging. Albright added that about a third of renewals come up each year and customer retention remains above 99%, providing visibility into fiscal 2027.

Kissner said Wiley had migrated more than 80% of journals to its Research Exchange platform, describing the move as key to making content “AI-ready data” and enabling licensing and subscription “knowledge feeds.” He also highlighted investment in the “Advanced” journal portfolio, including plans to launch eight new journals and what he described as strong growth in its open access flagship, Advanced Science. Kissner said the Advanced Portfolio is expected to exceed $70 million in revenue in fiscal 2026 and grow at strong double digits.

On geographic trends, executives said growth was broad-based rather than concentrated. Jay Flynn, EVP and general manager of Research & Learning, cited momentum in major research markets including China, India, North America, and Europe, and said Japan was growing again after a difficult period. He also pointed to the Middle East as an area where governments and universities are investing more heavily in research output and international collaboration.

AI and data services: revenue growth and new partnerships

Management repeatedly emphasized AI-related progress. Kissner said Wiley generated $42 million in AI revenue year-to-date, surpassing the prior year’s $40 million total, and reported $7 million of AI revenue in the quarter. The company also secured what it described as its first AI model training customer outside the U.S.

Looking ahead, Kissner said Wiley expects to deliver $45 million to $50 million of AI revenue this year, up from $40 million in fiscal 2025 and $23 million in fiscal 2024, and he anticipated “another big year” for AI revenue in fiscal 2027.

During Q&A, Albright described AI monetization as evolving from earlier, largely non-recurring training revenue to a “second growth curve” centered on recurring subscription models. He said recurring AI revenue is “slightly under 10%” of the company’s $45 million to $50 million AI revenue expectation this year, and management expects that recurring portion to triple next year.

The call highlighted several specific AI-related initiatives and partnerships:

• AI Gateway: Kissner described Gateway as an “access layer” that embeds peer-reviewed, full-text Wiley and partner content into AI platforms used by researchers. He said 9,000 researchers registered in four months, along with a growing number of institutions signing up for enterprise access.
• New leadership: Wiley appointed Armughan Rafat as Chief AI and Data Services Officer. Kissner said Rafat will focus on converting Wiley’s content advantage into high-margin data services and commercializing AI-driven offerings.
• Clinical Outcome Assessments (COA) partnership with IQVIA: Kissner said COA is a rapidly growing area, expanding from $800,000 in 2021 to nearly $7 million “today.” He said Wiley and partners have a large collection of COA instruments and that agreements have been executed with the top 20 pharma companies.
• OpenEvidence partnership: Kissner said Wiley signed a five-year multimillion-dollar licensing agreement with OpenEvidence for content including more than 400 journal titles, reference books, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. He said Wiley also took a small equity position in OpenEvidence and described the partnership as an initial step in a multi-year collaboration.
• Nexus licensing network: Kissner said the company has 36 publishing partners for its Nexus content licensing service and is in active discussions with others.

Learning headwinds, technology transformation, and capital return

In learning, Albright said revenue declined 2% in the quarter, with a 5% decline in professional offset by 1% growth in academic. He said professional results were pressured by corporate and consumer spending headwinds, including Amazon inventory management adjustments that management said are beginning to stabilize. He said Wiley is “calibrating” editorial focus toward higher-value franchises with stronger demand and better margins.

Academic learning grew 1% on higher rights and licensing revenue and digital book sales, and Albright cited momentum in advanced content for research libraries. He also noted a publishing partnership with the International Society of Automation under which Wiley will assume control of an approximately 70-title backlist and collaborate on future titles.

On operational initiatives, Albright highlighted a five-year managed services partnership with Virtusa as part of a broader technology transformation. During Q&A, he said the contract is roughly $150 million over five years and is expected to improve productivity and agility. He also said Virtusa assumed ownership of Wiley’s Sri Lanka technology operation as part of the partnership and consolidation plans. Albright said corporate expense reductions year-to-date were driven primarily by tech transformation.

Management also emphasized cash flow and shareholder returns. Kissner said operating cash flow nearly doubled to $103 million in the quarter. Albright said leverage improved to 1.7 from 2.0 and the company is tracking toward approximately $200 million of free cash flow for the year. Wiley repurchased $70 million of shares year-to-date and maintained a full-year target of $100 million, with a further $30 million planned for the fourth quarter, according to Albright.

For fiscal 2026, Albright said Wiley is raising guidance for adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted EPS to the high end of the existing ranges, while maintaining other outlook items. He said revenue growth is expected in the low single digits, research should finish at the top end of the market, and learning remains challenged by macro and channel conditions.

About John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY)

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.