Latest news with #JohnWileySons
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
John Wiley & Sons Inc (WLY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and ...
Revenue Growth: Achieved revenue growth in both segments, driven by recurring revenue models and strong growth in Open Access. AI Licensing Revenue: Total AI licensing revenue of $40 million for the year. Adjusted Operating Margin: Improved by 300 basis points. Adjusted EBITDA Margin: Increased by 120 basis points. Free Cash Flow: Up 10% to $126 million, with a reaffirmed target of $200 million for fiscal '26. Share Repurchases: Increased by 34% to $60 million. Dividend Yield: Currently at 3.5%. University Services Divestiture: Secured $120 million in cash proceeds. EPS Guidance: Exceeded EPS guidance range for the second year in a row. Research Submissions Growth: 19% submissions growth rate and 8% output growth in fiscal '25. Learning Segment Revenue: AI licensing generated $29 million in learning revenue. Adjusted EBITDA Margin for Learning: Improved by 250 basis points to 37.4%. Net-Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio: 1.8 at the end of April. Adjusted EPS: Expected to be in the range of $3.90 to $4.35 for fiscal '26. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with TEN. Release Date: June 17, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. John Wiley & Sons Inc (NYSE:WLY) reported revenue growth and margin improvement in both segments, with a 300 basis point improvement in adjusted operating margin. The company achieved strong growth in Open Access driven by global demand to publish, with a 19% submissions growth rate and 8% output growth in fiscal '25. AI licensing revenue reached $40 million, with significant partnerships formed with major tech companies for AI model training. Free cash flow increased by 10% to $126 million, and the company reaffirmed its $200 million target for fiscal '26. The company completed divestitures, securing $120 million in cash proceeds from the University Services divestiture to reduce debt and interest expenses. The learning segment experienced a 5% revenue decline in Q4 due to a large AI agreement in the prior year and retail channel softness in professional publishing. Adjusted revenue was flat in Q4, with some softness in ancillary and print products, including back files and digital archives. The company faces uncertainty in the AI market, which is rapidly evolving and not as predictable as desired. Corporate expenses rose modestly due to enterprise modernization, although they are expected to decrease in fiscal '26. The macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, with potential headwinds from geopolitical risks and policy volatility. Q: Can you discuss the outlook for organic growth excluding AI, and what factors might lead to higher or lower growth within your guidance range? A: Matthew Kissner, President & CEO, explained that AI is a rapidly evolving market, making it unpredictable. Christopher Caridi, Interim CFO, noted that Open Access revenues and submissions are strong, and they expect continued growth in fiscal '26. Jay Flynn, EVP & GM of Research & Learning, added that they have good visibility into calendar year '25 renewals, which were favorable, providing confidence in their guidance. Q: What is the potential contribution of recurring revenue from AI partnerships in fiscal '26 and beyond? A: Matthew Kissner stated that the AI market is nascent, with corporations fine-tuning AI models using Wiley's data. Jay Flynn added that the $1 million in AI revenue is just the start, with potential for high-margin, recurring revenue models similar to SaaS, driven by partnerships with tech and AI-native companies. Q: With article submissions up 19% and output up 8%, do you expect these growth rates to converge over time? A: Jay Flynn explained that submission growth supports subscription revenue value, with a six to eight-month lag between submissions and publications. While there's no direct correlation between submissions and output annually, they aim to drive submission volume to maintain value for subscribers and authors. Q: How are you planning and budgeting given the current macroeconomic and funding environment? A: Matthew Kissner noted that internal indicators remain strong, despite external uncertainties. Jay Flynn emphasized a balanced approach with discipline and flexibility, considering geopolitical risks and funding trends. The business's global diversification and digital, recurring revenue base provide a strong planning foundation. Q: With the $120 million from the University Services divestment, will you focus on deleveraging or more aggressive buybacks? A: Christopher Caridi stated that while returning cash to shareholders is important, they aim for a balanced approach, maintaining the ability to invest in the business. Share buybacks will be opportunistic, depending on market conditions. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wiley Earnings: What To Look For From WLY
Academic publishing company John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) will be reporting earnings this Tuesday before the bell. Here's what to expect. Wiley beat analysts' revenue expectations by 0.9% last quarter, reporting revenues of $404.6 million, down 12.2% year on year. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts' EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts' full-year EPS guidance estimates. Is Wiley a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free. This quarter, analysts are expecting Wiley's revenue to decline 7.1% year on year to $435 million, improving from the 11% decrease it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $1.27 per share. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Wiley has a history of exceeding Wall Street's expectations, beating revenue estimates every single time over the past two years by 10.9% on average. Looking at Wiley's peers in the media & entertainment segment, some have already reported their Q1 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. EchoStar's revenues decreased 3.6% year on year, meeting analysts' expectations, and Sinclair reported a revenue decline of 2.8%, in line with consensus estimates. EchoStar traded down 15.4% following the results while Sinclair was also down 4.8%. Read our full analysis of EchoStar's results here and Sinclair's results here. Investors in the media & entertainment segment have had fairly steady hands going into earnings, with share prices down 1.8% on average over the last month. Wiley is down 13.8% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $60 (compared to the current share price of $37.73). Today's young investors likely haven't read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
