| Factor | Score | Distribution | Value | Avg | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Valuation | 79 | 14.7x | 17.3x | Top tier | |
Growth | 40 | -0.3% | 7.1% | Around median | |
Quality | 91 | 13.7% | 4.5% | Top tier | |
Safety | 54 | 3.2x | 2.6x | Around median | |
Capital Return | 75 | 2.52% | 0.06% | Top tier | |
Momentum | 94 | 29.4% | -1.6% | Top tier | |
Sentiment | 2 | 1 | 3 | Bottom tier |
The floor: what the company is worth if growth stopped today
48% of today's price is what a buyer pays for growth that has not happened yet.
10-year US Treasury yield 4.96% as of 2026-10-22. Estimates computed from company data and analyst targets, not investment advice.
Ten ratios that matter, each compared against its sector median and average — so you can see whether a number is rich or cheap relative to peers in the same sector.
John Wiley & Sons operates in research and academic and professional content publishing, building its economic model around intellectual property rights, scientific journals, and relationships with societies and institutions. The company also uses this content in data licensing for artificial intelligence, applied research tools such as clinical outcome assessments and spectroscopy APIs, as well as digital content, educational software, and inclusive access. Management describes research publishing as the foundation that supplies artificial intelligence and data analytics products with reliable, continuously updated scientific content.
In Q1 fiscal 2027 (ending 2026-07), revenue was $386.4 million, down 2.6% year over year from $396.8 million in Q1 fiscal 2026 (ending 2025-07). Gross margin was 73.9% versus 72.5%, but operating margin fell to 0.8% from 7.8%. The company recorded a net loss of $11.7 million, negative diluted earnings per share of $0.23, and negative operating cash flow of $55.3 million.
The quarter's weakness stemmed from a difficult year-over-year comparison for artificial intelligence licensing revenue and weak demand conditions in Learning, particularly professional publishing, while Research remained the strongest driver. Research publishing submissions increased 31% and published output grew 8%, with customer retention exceeding 99% in the 2026 journal renewal season. Meanwhile, the company ended the quarter with $106.4 million in cash and investments and $1.3 billion in total debt, while free cash flow was $239.9 million over the last 12 months through 2026-07-31.
Q1 FY2027 (2026-07)
Last 12 months to 2026-07-31
When: 2026-12-03
Year-over-year revenue growth at the 0% threshold
Operating margin at the 0.8% threshold
When: fiscal 2027
Annual artificial intelligence revenue at the $50 million threshold
The industry-multiple value is $66, within a range of $45 to $100, and values John Wiley & Sons like its peers using last-12-month earnings and the median industry multiple. The discounted cash flow model gives $56, within a range of $41 to $81 and at a discount rate of 8.8%, measuring the value of the cash the company is expected to generate; this method is conservative by nature. The no-growth value is $26 at a discount rate of 8.8%, representing what remains if current after-tax operating profit stays constant forever. The industry multiple and discounted cash flow model are relatively close because both reflect an established ability to generate earnings and cash, while the no-growth value is lower because it excludes any future expansion; analyst targets are inherently inclined toward optimism because they price in expected growth, while analyst consensus remains Neutral.
Figures in the text are as of 2026-09-27; the live price is shown at the top of the page.
John Wiley & Sons recorded a net loss of $11.7 million and negative diluted earnings per share of $0.23 in Q1 fiscal 2027 (ending 2026-07). Operating margin declined to 0.8% from 7.8% in the comparable quarter, despite gross margin improving to 73.9% from 72.5%. Management attributed the pressure on profitability to lower revenue and the difficult comparison for artificial intelligence licensing, in addition to restructuring, acquisition, and integration costs.
Artificial intelligence revenue reached $49 million in fiscal 2026 (ending 2026-04), but the 2026-09-08 news indicated a sharp year-over-year decline in Q1 fiscal 2027. The company is working to expand the business through model-training licenses, subscription-based knowledge feeds, and spectroscopy APIs, in addition to Genesis Mission and Cusp AI. The key test remains increasing recurring revenue and reducing the dependence of results on the timing of large licensing deals.
Automated analysis for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Publishing submissions increased 31% and published output grew 8% in Q1 fiscal 2027, while customer retention exceeded 99% in the 2026 journal renewal season. The Advanced portfolio includes more than 30 journals, and 1.6 thousand journals were moved to the research publishing platform. This business supplies products such as clinical outcome assessments and spectroscopy APIs with continuously updated intellectual property that can be used in publishing and licensing.
Emerald expanded Wiley's presence in economics, business, and finance, and management said on the 2026-09-03 call that the integration was progressing ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, total debt was $1.3 billion in Q1 fiscal 2027 (ending 2026-07), versus $106.4 million in cash and investments. The transaction's success therefore depends on converting the additional content into growth, licensing revenue, and operating savings sufficient to offset the higher debt burden.
Operating cash flow was negative $55.3 million in Q1 fiscal 2027 (ending 2026-07), a pattern affected by the timing of journal subscription collections. However, over the last 12 months through 2026-07-31, operating cash flow was $290.3 million and free cash flow was $239.9 million. Operating cash flow equaled 146% of net income of $198.2 million over the same period, showing that the annual measure is stronger than reading the quarter in isolation.
The company spent $101.8 million on share repurchases over the last 12 months through 2026-07-31. The diluted share count declined to 50.8 million shares in Q1 fiscal 2027 (ending 2026-07), versus 54.0 million shares in Q1 fiscal 2026 (ending 2025-07), a decrease of 6.0%. This reduces the number of shares across which earnings are distributed, but it comes at a time when total debt is $1.3 billion.