McGraw Hill reported earnings for the third quarter ended December 31, with sales of $434.2 million, gaining 4.2 percent due to significant growth in the higher education segment. Adjusted EBITDA was $135.9 million, up 7.7 percent. The higher education business grew 24 percent to $225.4 million, “driven by record market share, value-based pricing, and favorable enrollment trends.” The K-12 business fell 14.6 percent to $128.2 million. The company again updated their guidance for the year, after raising it in November. They now expect between $2.067 billion and $2.087 billion in sales for the year and adjusted EBITDA between $729 million and […]
Publishers
Christian and Frontlist Books Boost Harper Sales to Record Quarter
News Corp. reported earnings for the second quarter ended December 31, with sales at Harper Collins up 6 percent ($38 million) to $633 million — a record for the quarter — helped by a $15 million gain from recent acquisitions and strong print book sales, particularly in frontlist and Christian titles. The unit also gained $8 million from currency exchange. CEO Robert Thomson called it “a significant recovery after a sluggish first quarter, and we have mounting optimism for the second half of the year.” That comes in part from the breakout success of Rachel Reid’s hockey romances, along with […]
BNED Hits Profit Expectations
Barnes & Noble Education has released results for the first and second quarters of their 2026 fiscal year, after delays due to an investigation into incorrect reporting. In the first half, ended November 1, sales grew 7.7 percent to $932.6 million, just shy of the expectations the company released in November. Net income and Adjusted EBITDA fell within their expected ranges: Net income was $6.7 million, compared to a loss of $60.8 million the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA was $38.3 million, up 13 percent. Comparable store sales grew 6 percent and First Day programs were up 29 percent. “Building on […]
Pearson Grows for the Fourth Quarter and the Year
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 […]
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 […]