Sales of professional books were the one weak spot in what was a generally good quarter for Wiley. For the period ended January 31, 2026, revenue rose 1.5%, to $410 million, while operating income jumped 21%, to $62.7 million.
The company’s research segment drove the revenue gains with sales up 2%, to $274 million. Within the segment, research publishing sales increased 3%, to $233.4 million, led by strong article output for both author-funded open access and multi-year licenses for research institutions, Wiley reported. Sales in research solutions were down 2% due largely to softness in recruiting and databases offsetting higher licensing revenue.
In the learning segment, revenue fell 1%, to $136 million, as sales in the professional division dropped 4%, to $55.8 million. Wiley attributed the decline to a “soft” retail channel and market conditions, offsetting higher licensing revenue. Academic sales grew 2% in the quarter, to $80.1 million, driven by licensing and digital content growth offsetting declines in print and digital courseware, Wiley reported.
For the nine-month period, revenue was basically flat at $1.23 billion, but operating income rose 15%, to $166.7 million. Wiley expects full fiscal year 2026 sales to post low-single digit growth, but predicts that it will have a 25.5% to 26.5% EBTIDA (earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation, and amortization) compared to 24% in fiscal 2025.
In prepared remarks, Wiley CEO and president Matthew Kissner put the focus on the company's improved bottomline, noting that "margin expansion remains our company-wide ethos."
