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Wiley Reports First Quarter 2027 Results; Q1 in Line With Expectations and Full Year Outlook Reaffirmed
Strength in Research and AI offset by prior year comparison and softness in Learning – Emerald integration ahead of schedule
HOBOKEN, N.J., September 03, 2026–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wiley (NYSE: WLY), a global leader in authoritative content and research intelligence for the advancement of scientific discovery, innovation, and learning, today reported results for the first quarter ended July 31, 2026.
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GAAP performance vs. prior year: Revenue of $386 million vs. $397 million (-3%); Operating Income of $3 million vs. $31 million and Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $(0.23) vs. $0.22 largely due to restructuring charges and acquisition and integration related costs.
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Adjusted Results at constant currency: Revenue of $386 million vs. $397 million (-3%), with growth in Research and contributions from the Emerald acquisition offset by prior year AI licensing revenue of $29 million and market-related softness in Learning. Adjusted Operating Income of $31 million (-9%), Adjusted EBITDA of $68 million (-4%), and Adjusted EPS of $0.44 (-10%) primarily due to revenue performance, with Adjusted EPS further impacted by higher net interest expense related to the acquisition.
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Research growth: Strong demand to publish and output trends continue. Revenue grew 4%, with Research Publishing up 12% (including two months from Emerald) offsetting a prior-year AI licensing comparison in Research Solutions. Adjusted EBITDA margin rose 130 basis points.
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AI and data analytics momentum: AI licensing revenue totaled $14 million for the quarter. The pipeline continues to expand across model training, commercial licensing, and subscription knowledge feeds. Wiley became the only scientific publisher in the U.S. Department of Energy‘s Genesis Mission and a founding data partner in CuspAI’s materials foundry. Wiley also launched its breakthrough Spectral Analysis API portfolio in the quarter, delivering “gold standard” chemical reference data directly into automated laboratory software pipelines.
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Cost savings: Wiley’s continued focus on efficiency drove a 19% improvement ($8 million) in corporate expenses on an Adjusted EBITDA basis through technology transformation and restructuring.
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Returns to shareholders: The Company increased its dividend for the 33rd consecutive yearand allocated $33 million to dividends and share repurchases this quarter.
“We delivered the quarter we planned for, and the momentum between Research and AI keeps building: Research is fueling the trusted content that accelerates AI, and AI is driving the productivity that accelerates Research,” said Matthew Kissner, President and CEO. “You can see it in our Research and AI pipelines, and in our selection as the only scientific publisher in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission and as founding data partner in CuspAI’s global materials foundry—choices that reflect not just our scale, but the quality and trust we’ve built over two centuries. Prior year AI licensing comparisons affected both segments this quarter, particularly Learning, and we expect improvement over the balance of the year as comparisons normalize and demand in that segment stabilizes.”
