The Publishers Weekly Stock Index increased 5.9% in September, but that gain was due almost entirely to the jump in the share price of Amazon, which rose $68.15 to close the month 8.9% ahead of its price at the end of August. Excluding Amazon, the PWSI fell 2.6%, as the share prices of the large educational publishers on the list took a beating. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s stock price had the biggest decline, falling 15.9%. During September, HMH CEO Linda Zecher resigned and the publisher revised downward its financial forecast for the full year. John Wiley reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results in September, with sales of print products particularly soft. The world’s largest educational publisher, Pearson, saw its share price drop 13.9% in the month. Sept. 30 was the day before R.R. Donnelley split itself into three companies, and its share price was $15.72, down 8% for the month.

Winners

Company Aug. 31 Sept. 30 % Change
Amazon 769.16 837.31 8.9%
CBS 51.03 54.93 7.6

Losers

Barnes & Noble 11.46 11.30 -1.4
News Corp 14.43 14.22 -1.4
Scholastic 40.26 39.36 -2.3
Educational Dev. Corp. 12.10 11.38 -5.9
R.R. Donnelley 17.10 15.72 -8.0
John Wiley 58.13 51.61 -11.2
Pearson 11.36 9.79 -13.9
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 15.95 13.41 -15.9
Publishers Weekly Stock Index 1,000.97 1,059.03 5.9
Dow Jones Aver. 18,400.88 18,308.15 -0.5

Source: Publishers Weekly