Wiley Writes a New Chapter in Its 218-Year History: Stronger, More Profitable, and Pioneering AI Development
On its fourth quarter and full year earnings review call, Wiley's President and CEO Matt Kissner reported another year of meaningful progress towards becoming a stronger and more profitable company. The 218-year-old legacy publisher has successfully navigated a multiyear journey to drive growth in its core businesses while capitalizing on emerging market opportunities through AI licensing, data analytics, and knowledge services.
"It's really quite a story," Kissner said. "One of America's great legacy companies now standing at the forefront of scientific advancement and responsible AI development."
Wiley has indeed come a long way since its humble beginnings as a print shop in Lower Manhattan in 1807. Today, it is a global company supporting cutting-edge initiatives such as the European Space Agency's AI model for Earth observation, cancer breakthroughs with the American Cancer Society, and drug discovery with multinational pharma companies.
One of the key highlights from the quarter was Wiley's success in driving growth across all key metrics. The company delivered revenue growth and margin improvement in both segments, drove steady growth in its recurring revenue models, and saw strong growth in Open Access publishing driven by global demand to publish.
"We secured a third major customer for LLM model training and see demand accelerating for vertical-specific subscription models," Kissner added. "We delivered total AI licensing revenue of $40 million this year and drove a 300 basis point improvement in our adjusted operating margin and a 120 basis point improvement in our adjusted EBITDA margin."
Wiley's financial characteristics remain strong, with healthy margins and cash generation, low leverage, and ample liquidity. The company has also reaffirmed its $200 million target for fiscal '26 free cash flow.
In addition to allocating capital to high-return growth opportunities, Wiley increased share repurchases by 34% to $60 million and is currently paying a 3.5% dividend.
Wiley's commitment to responsible AI development is evident in its partnership with the American Cancer Society to disseminate cancer breakthroughs and its work with multinational pharma companies to revolutionize drug discovery. The company's expanding avenue into the massive corporate market through AI content licensing has also been a highlight of the quarter.
As Kissner noted, Wiley is recognized as a wide moat business with a leading market position and must-have content and brands, which delivers resilient compounding growth in global markets that have remained stable through economic downturns. Around half of its revenue is recurring, and over 80% is from digital products and services.
Wiley's Vice President of Investor Relations Brian Campbell added that the company will continue to prioritize margin expansion as a multiyear strategic focus, with Chris Caridi, Interim CFO, expected to provide further details on their numbers. The company has secured cash proceeds of $120 million related to its University Services divestiture, which will be used to further reduce debt and interest expense.
