Pearson released a trading update for the fourth quarter and full year 2025. Fourth quarter sales grew 8 percent, with full year sales up 4 percent. For the quarter, sales in higher education (which includes textbooks) were flat. Virtual learning gained 20 percent, enterprise learning & skills gained 13 percent, and English language learning and assessments & qualifications each gained 8 percent. For the year, higher education grew 2 percent. Virtual learning grew 8 percent, enterprise learning & skills grew 6 percent, assessments & qualifications grew 4 percent, and English language learning grew 1 percent. “In 2025 we successfully delivered […]
Publishers
Scholastic Sees Trade, Book Fair Gains
Scholastic reported earnings for the second quarter ended November 30, with sales up 1 percent to $551 million. Operating income for the quarter rose 11 percent to $83 million and operating income excluding one-time items increased 20 percent to $95 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew 13 percent to $122.5 million. In the Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution segment, sales were $381 million, up 4 percent, and operating income was $109 million, up 6.6 percent—increases attributed to improvements in trade and book fair sales. Trade sales were up 7 percent to $110 million thanks to a new Dog Man book. Book club […]
2025: The Year in Finance
Publisher sales figures were stable this year, with most reporting companies just slightly ahead of or behind where they were in 2024. (Bloomsbury is the exception, falling from their record-breaking year in 2023, which had a new book by blockbuster romantasy author Sarah J. Maas.) Industry print sales monitored by the AAP ebbed while ebooks remained flat and audiobooks inched higher (now past the big boost from Spotify), outselling ebooks for the second year on record. (But also, AAP stats are missing data from growing publishers such as Sourcebooks and Entangled.) Here’s our roundup of results from the publicly trade […]
Profits Up at Wiley
Wiley announced results for their second quarter ended October 31, reporting sales down 1 percent to $422 million. Operating income grew 13.8 percent to $73 million, with income before taxes up 18.5 percent to $58 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew 8 percent to $115 million by reducing corporate expenses. “We continue to deliver strong performance in Research and accelerating momentum in AI as we capitalize on record research volume and expanding corporate R&D opportunities,” president and ceo Matthew Kissner said in a release. “In Research, strong global demand is driving defensible growth in our recurring revenue and open access models. In […]
Bertelsmann’s Third Quarter Sales Are Flat, with Modest “Organic Growth” at PRH Year-to-Date
Bertelsmann provided a brief update on third quarter sales, with sales for the first nine months of the year reaching €13.5 billion just above flat, up 0.8 percent year over year. Organic growth was 1.9 percent, as “Penguin Random House, Arvato Group, Bertelsmann Education Group, and Bertelsmann Investments made the largest contributions to this increase. The release notes that Alchemised “sold more than 300,000 copies across formats in North America in its first week, making it one of the most successful adult debut novels of all time.” On their own, third quarter sales looked to have been flat at approximately […]
McGraw Hill Raises Guidance on Q2
McGraw Hill announced results for the second quarter ended September 30, reporting sales of $669 million, down 3 percent–though this is the company’s second-highest second quarter sales in 10 years. The company attributes the decline to an “anticipated smaller K-12 market,” partially offset by gains in higher education. Adjusted EBITDA was $286 million, down from $290 million in 2024. “With market share gains and the expansion of AI-powered tools, we are advancing personalized learning at scale while investing in growth beyond our core offerings,” chair, president, and ceo Simon Allen said. “Our fiscal second quarter performance highlights how McGraw Hill […]