John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
Overview
Despite strong research publishing revenue and improved margins, negative factors such as declining learning and professional segment revenues, economic uncertainty, and AI revenue volatility counterbalance the positives. Increased share repurchases and dividends offer some support, but the overall sentiment remains neutral. Given the market cap, the stock is likely to see minimal movement over the next two weeks.
Key Financial Performance
Research Publishing Revenue Growth 7% growth year-over-year, driven by worldwide demand to publish, read, and license. Volume remains at record levels worldwide.
AI Training Revenue Close to $100 million in less than 2 years, with $6 million realized in the quarter and $35 million year-to-date. Growth attributed to licensing projects for LLM training.
Adjusted Operating Margin Up 250 basis points to 18.8% year-over-year, reflecting cost base management, reduced corporate expenses, and disciplined capital allocation.
Share Repurchases Increased by 69% to $21 million in the quarter. Total shareholder returns through buybacks and dividends reached $73 million year-to-date.
Research EBITDA Margin Improved by 220 basis points to 33.5%, driven by record submissions, growth in recurring revenue models, and 28% growth in author-funded open access.
Learning Segment Revenue Declined by 11% year-over-year, impacted by Amazon inventory adjustments, softer consumer spending, and an 8% enrollment decline in computer science.
Professional Segment Revenue Declined by 16% year-over-year, driven by retail channel dynamics, particularly Amazon inventory adjustments, and softer consumer spending.
Free Cash Flow A use of $108 million, improved by 17% or $22 million year-over-year, due to journal subscription timing and lower CapEx.
Net Debt-to-EBITDA Improved to 2.0x on a trailing 12-month basis, down from 2.2x in the prior year, reflecting better leverage management.
You have reached the limit. Sign up to access full content
Get started
Operating Highlights
AI Gateway: Launched as an interoperable content enrichment and delivery platform in partnership with AI ecosystem players like Anthropic and AWS.
Nexus content licensing service: Expanded to 30+ publisher partners, combining Wiley's content with partners' for licensing to AI model and application developers.
Research Exchange platform: 65% of journals are now live, incorporating AI to improve submission capture, automate processes, and enhance user experience.
Corporate R&D expansion: 8 corporate customers now subscribing to knowledge feeds, with strong interest across multiple verticals. Recent agreement with IQVIA to bundle clinical outcome content with clinical research capabilities.
Geographic expansion: Targeted growth in China, India, and Brazil, with double-digit submissions growth and nationwide agreements.
Cost management: Corporate expenses reduced by 18% this quarter, driven by targeted actions in technology, HR, and finance.
AI-driven productivity: Established an AI center of excellence to automate processes and improve efficiency, such as customer service transformation.
Technology transformation: Consolidating locations, rationalizing applications, and building an AI-enabled technology organization to reduce costs.
AI as a growth driver: Positioned as a leader in AI content licensing and partnerships, with $35 million in AI revenue year-to-date and strategic relationships with AWS, Anthropic, and others.
Shift to high-margin businesses: Focused on transitioning portfolio toward high-margin, high-ROIC business models, including digital products and AI-driven solutions.
You have reached the limit. Sign up to access full content
Get started
Risk or Challenges
Learning Segment Challenges: Declines in the Learning segment due to external factors such as Amazon's abrupt inventory management changes, soft consumer spending, and cyclical nature of professional books. Additionally, enrollment challenges in computer science (down 8%) and soft corporate spending have impacted revenue.
Retail Channel Dynamics: Amazon's inventory adjustments have created significant challenges in the professional and academic segments, particularly affecting print sales.
Consumer Spending: Soft consumer spending has negatively impacted professional books and assessments, which are cyclical and sensitive to economic conditions.
Enrollment Declines: Undergraduate computer science enrollment declined by 8%, impacting digital courseware revenue in the Learning segment.
Corporate Spending: Soft corporate spending and hiring have reduced demand for personality assessments and team development programs.
AI Revenue Volatility: AI licensing revenue is difficult to project and remains volatile, creating uncertainty in revenue forecasting.
Learning Revenue Decline: Learning revenue is expected to decline for the full year, despite mitigation efforts such as cost actions and digital product focus.
Economic Uncertainty: Macroeconomic factors, including soft consumer and corporate spending, are creating headwinds across multiple business segments.
Operational Cost Management: While cost management initiatives are underway, there is ongoing pressure to reduce costs further and improve margins.
You have reached the limit. Sign up to access full content
Get started
Guidance & Outlook
Revenue Growth: Revenue growth is now expected to be in the low single digits, down from the prior range of low to mid-single digits. Research demand is tracking better than expected, but Learning will be down for the year. Second half declines in Learning are expected to moderate.
AI Revenue: AI revenue is expected to be moderately ahead of last year's $40 million.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin: Adjusted EBITDA margin is projected to be 25.5% to 26.5%, up from 24% last year.
Adjusted EPS: Adjusted EPS is expected to range from $3.90 to $4.35, up from $3.64 last year.
Free Cash Flow: Free cash flow is projected to be approximately $200 million, driven by EBITDA growth, lower interest payments, and favorable working capital.
CapEx: CapEx is expected to be comparable to last year's total of $77 million.
Quarterly Phasing: Q3 is anticipated to be lighter than typical due to the timing of AI project revenue, creating a year-over-year headwind of approximately $9 million in Research. Growth is weighted to Q4, driven by journal renewal timing and customer pipeline conversions in Research Solutions and Learning.
You have reached the limit. Sign up to access full content
Get started
Shareholder Return Plan
Dividends: Through the half, we've returned $73 million to shareholders in buybacks and dividends, and our current yield is around 3.9%.
Share Repurchases: We increased our share repurchases by 69% this quarter to $21 million. Through the half, we've returned $73 million to shareholders in buybacks and dividends. Share repurchases were up 69% to $21 million or $35 million year-to-date compared to $25 million in the prior year period.
You have reached the limit. Sign up to access full content
Get started
Key Q&A
Q:Research revenue grew 5% ex-currency, driven by OA and mix model. Does this growth have potential for incremental upside in the near- to mid-term?
A:The management believes they are growing at the top of the market growth and see potential to outperform due to strong article growth, which is a powerful leading indicator. They are cautiously optimistic and are beginning renewal discussions for calendar '26.
Q:Can you provide more details about the $6 million in AI-related revenue booked during the quarter and the pipeline of opportunities?
A:The $6 million deal was with a repeat customer and involved majority Wiley content. Management highlighted the lumpy nature of these deals but expressed confidence in their pipeline. They emphasized their strategy of building deep, recurring relationships and partnerships with OI native companies to drive product innovation and corporate R&D.
Q:What is causing the decline in the Learning segment, and do you expect this trend to moderate?
A:The decline is attributed to changes in inventory management strategies by large retailers like Amazon. Management believes this is cyclical rather than structural and expects normalization. They do not see changes in end-user behavior and anticipate recovery as inventory patterns stabilize.
Q:How is the company balancing accelerated share buybacks with deleveraging in the back half of the year?
A:The company maintains a disciplined approach to capital allocation, balancing growth opportunities, leverage management, and share buybacks. They are opportunistic with buybacks, using 10b5-1 plans to repurchase shares when prices are attractive, and feel confident about their current pace of shareholder returns.
Q:Review of Unclear Management Responses
A:Management avoided providing specific details on the exact timing and structure of AI-related deals, citing their lumpy nature. Additionally, while they expressed optimism about the Learning segment's recovery, they did not provide concrete data or timelines for normalization.
You have reached the limit. Sign up to access full content
Get started
Earnings Word Cloud
The most frequently occurring keywords in this quarter's earning call
AI Gateway
AI Research
AI agent
AI ecosystem
AI model
AWS marketplace
Claude Life
Gateway content
IQVIA
Nexus
Research Publishing
Research core
action
base
center
challenge
commitment
connector
consumer
copyright
corporation
date
discipline
discussion
excellence
feed
field
industry
inventory
margin basis
model application
network
others
peer
record
research publisher
researcher
spending
transformation
university
user
WLY Transcript
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Neutral6-16
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Positive3-5
The earnings call summary indicates positive financial performance with strong adjusted EBITDA growth, improved operating margins, and increased AI revenue. The shareholder return plan is robust with significant share repurchases and dividends. The partnership with Virtusa is expected to enhance productivity and margins. Despite some uncertainties in the Learning segment and vague responses in the Q&A, the overall sentiment is positive, supported by AI growth and shareholder returns. Given the market cap, a positive stock price movement of 2% to 8% is expected over the next two weeks.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Unknown12-4
Despite strong research publishing revenue and improved margins, negative factors such as declining learning and professional segment revenues, economic uncertainty, and AI revenue volatility counterbalance the positives. Increased share repurchases and dividends offer some support, but the overall sentiment remains neutral. Given the market cap, the stock is likely to see minimal movement over the next two weeks.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Unknown9-4
The earnings call presents mixed signals: revenue declined slightly, but research solutions revenue grew significantly. The partnership with Anthropic could enhance future growth, but its financial impact remains unclear. The Q&A indicates management's optimism, yet lacks detailed strategies for addressing specific declines. Strong fundamentals and improved financial metrics, like the debt ratio, offset some concerns. Market reaction is likely to remain neutral, with a market cap of $2.19 billion suggesting moderate volatility.
WLY Slides
WLY Report
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this earnings call transcript come from?
All transcripts are sourced directly from the official live webcast or the company’s official investor relations website. We use the exact words spoken during the call with no paraphrasing of the core discussion.
How soon is the transcript available after the earnings call ends?
Full verbatim transcripts are typically published within 4–12 hours after the call ends. Same-day availability is guaranteed for all S&P 500 and most mid-cap companies.
Is the transcript edited or altered in any way?
No material content is ever changed or summarized in the “Full Transcript” section. We only correct obvious spoken typos (e.g., “um”, “ah”, repeated 10 times”, or clear misspoken ticker symbols) and add speaker names/titles for readability. Every substantive sentence remains 100% as spoken.
Why do some answers appear as “Unclear” or “Inaudible”?
When audio quality is poor or multiple speakers talk over each other, we mark the section instead of guessing. This ensures complete accuracy rather than introducing potential errors.
Who creates the AI Summary and Key Q&A highlights shown above the transcript?
They are generated by a specialized financial-language model trained exclusively on 15+ years of earnings transcripts. The model extracts financial figures, guidance, and tone with 97%+ accuracy and is regularly validated against human analysts. The full raw transcript always remains available for verification.
