John Wiley & Sons (WLY) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved or exceeded financial commitments for Fiscal 2025, with revenue and margin growth in both Research and Learning segments, and robust free cash flow generation.

• AI licensing revenue totaled $40 million, with new vertical-specific partnerships and a third major tech customer secured.

• Completed all planned divestitures, including university services, realizing $120 million in cash proceeds post-year-end.

• Increased share repurchases by 34% to $60 million and raised the dividend for the 31st consecutive year, returning $259 million to shareholders over two years.

• Confident outlook for continued growth in revenue, profit, and cash flow, supported by recurring business models and geographic diversity.

Financial highlights

• Adjusted revenue up 3% year-over-year to $1.66B, driven by research, academic growth, and AI licensing.

• Adjusted operating income, EPS, and EBITDA up 29%, 31%, and 8% respectively; adjusted EBITDA margin at 24% for the year.

• Free cash flow increased 10% to $126 million, with CapEx at $77 million and cloud-based solution spend comparable to prior year.

• Dividends and share repurchases totaled $137 million, with $60 million used for buybacks at an average price of $44.16.

• Net debt to EBITDA ratio at 1.8, slightly higher than 1.7 a year ago, before deploying divestiture proceeds.

Outlook and guidance

• Fiscal 2026 outlook projects low to mid-single digit adjusted revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margin of 25.5%-26.5%, and adjusted EPS of $3.90-$4.35.

• Free cash flow target reaffirmed at $200 million, supported by EBITDA growth and lower restructuring payments.

• Q1 revenue expected to be down modestly year-over-year due to tough AI comp, but full-year outlook remains strong.

• Growth drivers include research publishing demand, steady academic trends, and continued AI content/data demand.