Wiley held its fiscal Q1 2027 earnings call with CEO Matthew S. Kissner, CFO Craig Albright, IR VP Brian Campbell, and analyst Will Gildea.
AI revenue totaled USD 14 million; USD 10.5 million came from model training and USD 3.5 million from recurring revenue. Another USD 14 million is contracted for Q2–Q3.
Management reiterated AI revenue above USD 50 million for the year; AI recurring revenue is expected to rise 2x–3x.
Research revenue rose 4% to USD 293 million; Research Publishing climbed 12% on Emerald, open access growth, and AI licensing. Renewal retention stayed above 99%.
Emerald contributed USD 13 million in revenue and USD 5 million in adjusted EBITDA; integration is tracking ahead of plan. Cost synergies are targeted at USD 30 million by year 3.
Learning revenue fell 20% to USD 93 million, reflecting the impact from prior-year AI licensing, softer professional demand, and academic seasonality; adjusted EBITDA margin dropped to 15.1%.
Full-year outlook was reaffirmed: organic revenue growth in the low-to-mid single digits, adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.5%–27.5%, adjusted EPS of USD 4.60–USD 5.05, and free cash flow of USD 205 million.
Net debt-to-EBITDA rose to 2.7x on the Emerald deal; pro forma leverage was 2.1% including synergies, within the 1.5x–2.5x range.
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