John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLYB) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

John Wiley & Sons's P/E of 13.7 is below its own 5-year median of 20.8.

P/E below the industry

John Wiley & Sons's P/E of 13.7 is below the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 19.9.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

John Wiley & Sons's EV/EBITDA of 9.6 is above its 5-year median of 9.3.

P/B above the industry

John Wiley & Sons's price-to-book of 3.25 is above the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 2.57.

Trading below fair value

The share price of $51.17 is below our fair value estimate of $58.80.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 13.0% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -6.0% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 138% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth accelerating

Net income grew 104% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 8.4% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew -0.3% over the last twelve months; the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median is 1.1%.

Guidance unchanged

The latest outlook (Fiscal 2027 Outlook Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Sep 3, 2026) was maintained, so it neither adds nor takes away points.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 74.6% over the last twelve months, against 74.2% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 25.9% over the last twelve months and averaged 6.3% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 14.4%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

John Wiley & Sons's return on equity of 25.9% is above the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 7.4%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 8.4% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 11.9% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 3.1%.

Net margin above the industry

John Wiley & Sons's net margin of 11.9% is above the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 4.0%.

High debt

Debt is 162% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt rising against equity

Debt to equity rose from 75.3% five years ago to 162%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 22.5% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 5.3 times.

Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

Current assets are 0.64 times current liabilities.

Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone

The Altman Z-score is 2.13; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

John Wiley & Sons paid dividends worth 2.8% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 2.8% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 4.0% or more; John Wiley & Sons yields 2.8%.

Dividend stability

Fewer than five years of dividend history.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 37.1% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 30.7% of free cash flow.