WLYJOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing
- Revenue
- $1.7B
- 0.1% YoY
- Operating margin
- 16.5%
- 25% YoY
- EBITDA
- $420M
- 14% YoY
- Market cap
- $3.1B
- Employees
- 4,500
- $373K revenue each
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 2.8×
- $1.2B net debt
- AI in 10-K
- 10.4
- mentions per 10K words
Takeover score 3 of 13
Fixable underperformance 2 of 7
- TSR below peersYes4 of 5 years3+ of last 5 years
- High CEO pay despite TSRNo$5M medianMedian CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
- Earnings not backed by cashNo118% of net incomeCash flow under 80% of net income
- Dilutive SBCNo1% of revenueOver 10% of revenue
- Payouts exceed cash flowNo67% of cash flowBuybacks + dividends over cash flow
- Goodwill-heavyYes44% of assetsOver 40% of assets
- Shareholder dissentNo93% lowest supportAny vote under 80% support
Buyer economics 1 of 4
- Low revenue per employeeNo$373K · 56th pctBottom quartile of its SIC industry
- Quiet on AINo10.4 per 10K words · 93rd pctBottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
- Net cashNo2.8× EBITDA net debtMore cash than debt, positive EBITDA
- Buyout-sizedYes$3.1B market capMarket cap $500M–$5B
Catalysts 0 of 2
- Active 13DNo0 filingsActive-intent 13D in 18 months
- Net insider sellingNo$0 netNet sales over $10M in 12 months
Financials
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.1B | $2.0B | $1.9B | $1.7B | $1.7B | 0.1% |
| Operating income | $219M | $56M | $52M | $221M | $277M | 25% |
| Net income | $148M | $17M | −$200M | $84M | $222M | 163% |
| Operating cash flow | $339M | $277M | $208M | $203M | $261M | 29% |
| Capex | $89M | $81M | $76M | $61M | $51M | 17% |
| Stock-based comp | $26M | $27M | $25M | $22M | $21M | 7.3% |
| Buybacks | $30M | $35M | $45M | $60M | $100M | 66% |
| Dividends | $77M | $77M | $77M | $76M | $74M | 2.3% |
Deal filings
None.
13D filers
| Filed | Filer | Form | Stake | Intent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 2025 | WILEY DEBORAH E | SCHEDULE 13D/A | 6.1% | Passive |
| May 13, 2025 | WILEY DEBORAH E | SCHEDULE 13D/A | 91.5% | Passive |
Insider trading
No open-market trades in the last 12 months.
Pay vs performance
| Year | CEO total comp | Comp actually paid | TSR (indexed) | Peer TSR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $7M | $6M | 85 | 146 |
| FY2025 | $6M | $6M | 88 | 123 |
| FY2024 | — | — | 73 | 104 |
| FY2023 | $4M | $2M | 72 | 84 |
| FY2022 | $5M | $4M | 92 | 89 |