John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're digging into John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) now, trying to map out how they're actually making money after those big divestitures and that aggressive pivot into AI. Honestly, the old model is gone; we're looking at a leaner machine that pulled in total revenue of $1,678 million for fiscal year 2025, with AI content licensing already chipping in $40 million. Still, they managed to generate $126 million in Free Cash Flow, showing the restructuring is defintely having an effect. See the full, nine-block Business Model Canvas below to understand exactly where their $1.68 billion revenue engine is firing now.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the partnerships John Wiley & Sons, Inc. relies on to power its digital and AI-driven growth strategy as of late 2025. These alliances are critical, especially as the company monetizes its vast content library through new channels.

The collaboration with leading technology firms is central to the current strategy, particularly in the AI space. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. launched its AI Gateway, an interoperable content enrichment and delivery platform, in partnership with ecosystem players like Anthropic and AWS. Furthermore, the company continues to advance its strategic partnerships with AWS, Anthropic, and Perplexity, and added Mistral AI during the second quarter of fiscal year 2026.

The Nexus content licensing service, which combines John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s content with that of its publishing partners for licensing to AI model and application developers, has grown to include 30-plus publisher partners.

The expansion into corporate R&D markets is also driven by key partnerships. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has increased corporate agreements and pilots to 8 customers for its subscription access to a 'knowledge feed' of content for vertical-specific AI applications. These customers include organizations such as the European Space Agency, Novartis, and Regeneron.

Here's a look at the key metrics associated with these strategic relationships:

The focus on AI and corporate R&D is a significant part of the Research segment's momentum, which saw 7% growth in Research Publishing in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. The Academic part of the Learning segment, which relies on institutional relationships, historically represents 55% of that segment.

The specific partners John Wiley & Sons, Inc. engages with across the required categories include:

• LLM developers: AWS, Anthropic, Perplexity, and Mistral AI
• Nexus network publishers: Over 30 partners
• Corporate R&D departments: Customers including the European Space Agency, Novartis, and Regeneron

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core actions John Wiley & Sons, Inc. takes to run its business right now, late in 2025. It's a mix of traditional publishing muscle and aggressive digital/AI plays. Honestly, the focus has clearly shifted to monetizing that massive content library in new ways.

Curating and publishing 1,600+ peer-reviewed journals

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. maintains a vast portfolio of scholarly output. They are proud to publish nearly 2,000 journals as of 2025. This activity is the bedrock of the Research segment. The demand to publish remains strong, evidenced by recent submission and output metrics.

• Article submissions in a recent quarter grew by 28%.
• Published outputs increased by 12% in the same period.
• In a prior quarter, submissions and output were up by 25% and 13%, respectively.

The Research Publishing revenue for the three months ended October 31, 2025, was $241.4 million.

Executing the Global Restructuring Program for cost savings

The company is deep into optimizing its cost structure, which involves technology transformation and general expense discipline. This Global Restructuring Program (GRP) is a multiyear effort designed to materially reduce the cost base. Charges related to the GRP were $5.6 million for the quarter ending January 31, 2025.

The financial impact of these ongoing efficiency drives is becoming clearer:

These actions helped drive the Adjusted Operating Margin up to 18.8% in Q3 CY2025.

Developing and maintaining digital platforms (Atypon, AI Gateway)

Digital delivery is paramount, with the business generating the majority of its revenue from digital and online products-83% of Adjusted Revenue in FY2025. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. enhanced its digital capabilities significantly with the 2016 acquisition of Atypon, a software solutions provider. More recently, the focus is on AI integration.

The company launched the Wiley AI Gateway in October 2025. This platform is an interoperable endpoint integrating peer-reviewed content into AI tools.

• AI usage among researchers surged from 57% in 2024 to 84% in 2025.
• The AI Gateway partners include Anthropic, AWS, and Mistral AI.
• The platform uses advanced content transformation technology built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Negotiating large-scale institutional subscription and Open Access agreements

The Research segment's growth is heavily supported by institutional agreements and the Open Access model. The strategic inclusive access program is a key driver here, growing revenue by double digits. Research segment revenue grew 6.2% in Q1 FY26, reaching $281.7 million.

For the three months ended October 31, 2025, the Research segment generated $278.5 million in revenue. The Research EBITDA margin saw an improvement of 220 basis points in Q2 FY26.

Licensing archival research content for AI model training

Monetizing content for AI training is a major, measurable activity. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. executed a major AI licensing agreement with a large technology company. In Fiscal 2025, the company realized $40 million in total AI licensing revenue, up from $23 million in Fiscal 2024.

The momentum continued into the next fiscal period:

• AI licensing revenue in Q1 FY26 was $16 million, compared to only $1 million in the prior year period.
• In Q2 FY26, another $6 million licensing agreement for LLM training was signed, bringing the Year-to-Date AI revenue to $35 million.
• The company is also expanding its corporate R&D expansion through pilots or agreements with 8 corporate customers in targeted verticals.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets that allow John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to create and deliver its value proposition in the scholarly and professional markets. These aren't just line items; they are the engines of the business, especially as the company pivots further into digital delivery.

Extensive Intellectual Property (IP) and Content Backlist

The sheer volume and quality of the content form the bedrock of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s value. This includes the historical archive and the continuous output of new research.

• The company publishes over 1,600 peer-reviewed journals.
• Adjusted Revenue for the year ended April 30, 2025, showed 83% generated by digital products and services.
• For the same period, 48% of Adjusted Revenue was recurring, indicating stable, contracted content access.
• AI licensing revenue reached $40 million in Fiscal 2025, directly monetizing this IP backlist.

Global network of authors, editors, and peer reviewers

The network represents the human capital and the quality control mechanism essential for scholarly credibility. While a precise count of all individuals isn't public, the customer base reflects the reach of this network.

• Over 10,000 research universities around the world subscribe to the journal portfolio.
• 94% of surveyed researchers believe peer review is essential for maintaining quality in scientific research.
• The company aims to expand its contactable database to reach more early career researchers.

Proprietary digital publishing platforms (e.g., Atypon)

The proprietary technology stack, significantly bolstered by the Atypon acquisition, is a critical asset for digital delivery and monetization. This platform is engineered for scale and integration.

Here's a quick look at the scale of the Atypon Experience Platform:

The platform includes built-in capabilities like Atypon Engage, which offers Customer Data Platform (CDP) functionality tailored for scholarly publishing.

Financial capital (FY2025 Free Cash Flow of $126 million)

Sufficient capital ensures the ability to reinvest in digital transformation, manage debt, and return value to shareholders. The Fiscal 2025 performance provided solid cash generation.

Brand equity and trust in scholarly publishing since 1807

The longevity of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. translates directly into a high degree of trust and a wide moat in its markets. This intangible asset underpins customer retention.

• The company was founded in 1807.
• Institutional customer retention for journal licenses is above 99%.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at what John Wiley & Sons, Inc. offers its customers right now, late in 2025. It's about the core value delivered across research and learning.

Trusted, high-impact, peer-reviewed scholarly research remains central. The Research segment shows this demand clearly. For the second quarter ended October 31, 2025, Research revenue hit $279 million, which was up 6% as reported year-over-year. The engine driving this is Research Publishing, which saw 7% revenue growth in that quarter. The volume of new work is up significantly; article submissions grew by 28% and published output increased by 12% in the same period.

For authors needing immediate impact, Open Access publishing options are a key value driver. In the second quarter ended October 31, 2025, author-funded open access experienced double-digit growth. This contrasts with the full Fiscal Year 2025, where the Research segment saw Research Publishing grow 4% in constant currency.

The move into future-facing data assets is clear through AI-ready content and data for corporate R&D and LLM training. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. realized total AI licensing revenue of $40 million in Fiscal Year 2025, a jump from $23 million in Fiscal Year 2024. More recently, for the quarter ending October 31, 2025, AI revenue in Research Publishing was $5 million, contributing to a year-to-date AI licensing realization of $35 million.

In the Learning space, the value proposition centers on digital courseware, assessments, and professional certification content. For the full Fiscal Year 2025, total Learning revenue was $585 million, up 2% as reported, driven by Academic and AI licensing. Within Academic products, which generated $333.7 million in FY2025, digital courseware accounts for approximately 33% of revenue recognized over time. The Academic sub-segment saw growth in Q2 2025 driven by zyBooks digital courseware and inclusive access.

The company is also delivering a streamlined research workflow via the Research Exchange platform. This platform has reached a significant adoption milestone. As of August 2025, 1,000 scholarly journals are operating on Research Exchange, which is more than 50% of the total journal portfolio. This platform supports more than 350,000 unique users.

Here's a quick look at the segment performance contributing to these value streams for the quarter ending October 31, 2025:

The focus on digital delivery is substantial. For the year ended April 30, 2025, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. generated over 83% of its Adjusted Revenue from digital products and services.

You can see the recurring nature of some of these offerings:

• For the year ended April 30, 2025, 48% of Adjusted Revenue was recurring.
• Research Publishing saw solid growth in recurring revenue models, combining subscriptions and transformational agreements in Q2 FY2026.
• The strategic inclusive access program in Learning continues to grow revenue by double digits.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

High-touch, long-term institutional subscription contracts form a bedrock of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s revenue stability. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2025, 48% of Adjusted Revenue was recurring, meaning it was contractually obligated or set to recur with a high degree of certainty. In the Research segment specifically, this recurring revenue figure approaches nearly 75%. Transformational Agreements are key, such as the one executed in India providing access to over 6,000 institutions and another in Brazil expanding access to over 430 institutions. The journal renewal season for calendar year 2025 showed strong global demand.

Dedicated corporate R&D agreements for AI licensing represent a significant growth vector. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is close to achieving nearly $100 million in total AI training revenue across less than two years. For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, AI licensing revenue reached $29 million, a substantial increase from $17 million in the prior year period, fueled partly by a $20 million project. Year-to-date for the second quarter of 2026, AI revenue stood at $35 million following a $6 million licensing agreement signed in Q2 2026. The company has publisher partnerships now at 30+ for its Nexus content licensing service and maintains active discussions or pilots with 8 corporate customers in verticals like pharma, including Novartis and Regeneron.

Automated digital self-service is central to the digital strategy. Digital products and services accounted for over 83% of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s adjusted revenue for the year ended April 30, 2025. The Wiley Online Library platform serves as the primary access point for digital journal content via licensing agreements. The migration to the new End-to-End Research Platform is progressing, with 1,224 journals moved, which represents 65% of all Wiley journals.

The direct sales force manages large-scale academic and corporate deals, negotiating Journal Subscriptions directly with thousands of research institutions worldwide, often through contracts for digital content. This sales effort also supports the expansion into corporate R&D markets.

Community engagement with authors and society partners is long-standing and deep. Four of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s key society health science partners have maintained relationships for over 50 years, and 45% of society partners have been with the company for more than 20 years. Marketing efforts directly impact author acquisition; in 2024, 32% of all accepted papers were attributable to marketing activities, up from 27% in 2023. Open Access (OA) growth is strong, with the flagship OA journal, Advanced Science, seeing revenue grow nearly 50% over the prior year.

Here's a quick look at key relationship-driven metrics as of late 2025:

The focus on digital channels and long-term partnerships is clear:

• Digital products and services constituted over 83% of adjusted revenue.
• The new End-to-End Research Platform migration is 65% complete.
• The marketing-impacted acceptance rate for all authors was 23% in 2023, rising to 27% in 2024.
• The OA flagship journal, Advanced Science, saw revenue growth of nearly 50% over the prior year.
• Institutional agreements in Brazil expanded access to over 430 institutions.

Finance: review the Q3 2025 AI licensing revenue of $14.3 million against the Q1 2026 figure of $29 million by next Tuesday.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how John Wiley & Sons, Inc. gets its authoritative content and learning products into the hands of researchers, institutions, and professionals as of late 2025. The channel strategy is heavily weighted toward digital delivery now.

Direct institutional sales to university libraries and consortia

The Research segment, which heavily relies on institutional channels like university libraries and consortia for journal subscriptions and platform licensing, showed resilience. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended July 31, 2025, the Research segment delivered adjusted revenue of $281.7 million. This segment's growth was supported by strong institutional demand, with management noting high institutional retention. Research Publishing revenue specifically grew 7% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. This segment's success is tied to the volume of scholarly output, with article submissions rising 25% and published outputs up 13% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.

Proprietary digital platforms (Wiley Online Library, AI Gateway)

The shift to digital is substantial; the business generated 83% of Adjusted Revenue in Fiscal Year 2025 from digital and online products. Your proprietary platforms are central here. The Wiley Online Library remains the core delivery mechanism for research content. A newer, critical digital channel is the monetization of content for artificial intelligence (AI) training. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. realized $6 million in AI licensing revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, bringing the year-to-date total to $35 million. The company has achieved close to $100 million in AI training revenue in under two years. Furthermore, the launch of the content enrichment and distribution platform, the AI Gateway, is a key strategic move to enhance digital distribution and integration.

Journal subscription agents and book wholesalers

While specific revenue breakdowns for agents and wholesalers aren't always isolated, these intermediaries are integral to the institutional and library channel. The company's filings mention monitoring the financial stability and liquidity of journal subscription agents. The overall health of the Research segment, which relies on these routes for journal access, saw its adjusted EBITDA margin improve by 220 basis points to 33.5% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026.

Online retailers (e.g., Amazon, which caused inventory issues)

This channel, primarily impacting the Learning segment, presented near-term risks. Management explicitly cited a significant change in inventory management from Amazon as a headwind for the Professional category in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. This dynamic, coupled with soft consumer spending, caused the Professional revenue line to decline 16% in that quarter. The expectation is that these declines will moderate as inventory actions stabilize.

Direct-to-consumer sales for professional learning products

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) access is part of the Learning segment, which faced broader challenges. Overall Learning revenue was down 11% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. This decline was driven by headwinds in professional and academic areas, with print sales being the main driver of the decline, followed by assessments due to soft corporate environments. Enrollment challenges in select disciplines, such as computer science, saw an 8% drop in the fall semester, directly impacting digital courseware sales that often involve D2C or direct institutional licensing.

Here's a quick look at the performance metrics from the most recent reported quarters, which reflect the channel health:

The distribution health is clearly bifurcated right now. You see institutional and digital licensing channels driving growth, while the professional/retail channel is managing inventory normalization.

• Institutional retention rates for journals remain high.
• Article submissions are up 25%, feeding the digital pipeline.
• Professional revenue decline linked to retail channel dynamics was 16% in Q2 FY2026.
• Computer science enrollments saw an 8% decline in the fall semester.
• The company raised its dividend for the 31st consecutive year.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

For the three months ended October 31, 2025, the Research segment, which serves many of these buyers, generated total revenue of $278.5 million, with Research Publishing contributing $241.4 million and Research Solutions adding $37.1 million. Research revenue accounted for approximately 64% of consolidated revenue for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2025.

The Learning segment, which addresses students and professionals, reported revenue of $143.2 million for the three months ended October 31, 2025. Within this, Academic products brought in $87.0 million, and Professional products accounted for $56.2 million. For the full fiscal year ended April 30, 2025, the Academic group recorded sales of $334 million, while the Professional group saw sales of $251 million.

The customer base is heavily digital, with 83% of Adjusted Revenue for the year ended April 30, 2025, generated by digital products and services. Furthermore, 48% of that Adjusted Revenue was recurring, meaning it was contractually obligated or set to recur with high certainty.

Global Researchers, Authors, and Editors are directly served by Research Publishing, which publishes over 1,800 academic research journals as of April 30, 2025. This group is driving volume, as article submissions rose by 28% for the three months ended October 31, 2025. The Author-Funded Open Access saw a 28% increase year-to-date in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026.

Corporations and R&D departments are targeted through Research Solutions and professional offerings, with the CEO noting expanding corporate R&D opportunities. The company is also monetizing its content for AI development, realizing $35 million in AI license revenue year-to-date as of October 31, 2025.

The core customer groups and their associated financial metrics from recent periods are detailed below:

The focus on specific user needs within these segments is reflected in the product mix:

• Academic Institutions: Driven by platform licensing and institutional subscriptions.
• Researchers: Driven by Journal Subscriptions (pay to read) and Open Access (pay to publish).
• Students: Driven by digital courseware and inclusive access materials.
• Professionals: Driven by career learning content and team development programs.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

The Cost Structure for John Wiley & Sons, Inc. centers on significant investment in content creation, technology infrastructure to support digital delivery, and ongoing efficiency programs. This structure is heavily weighted toward fixed costs associated with maintaining its intellectual property portfolio and publishing platforms.

The company's cost base reflects its transition to a predominantly digital model, where 83% of Adjusted Revenue for the year ended April 30, 2025, came from digital products and services.

The major components of the cost structure for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2025, are detailed below:

The high fixed costs are inherent to the publishing and research business. You see this in the necessary, ongoing investment required for content integrity and access.

• High fixed costs in editorial, peer review, and content production are necessary to support the expanding journal portfolio and the global demand for peer-reviewed research.
• Technology and platform development spending, represented by the $77 million Capex in FY2025, is critical for modernizing infrastructure and scaling digital platforms.

Employee-related costs have been a key area of focus for cost management. The reduction in Operating and administrative expenses to $947.4 million in FY2025 was largely driven by lower employee-related costs. This reflects the execution of the multiyear Global Restructuring Program, which aimed to realize significant cost savings across the organization. The program actioned the remainder of a $130 million cost savings goal.

Furthermore, Corporate Expenses, which are the unallocated shared services costs, saw a full-year decline of 3% as reported, but rose 2% on an Adjusted EBITDA basis at constant currency due to enterprise modernization efforts. The company recorded $25.6 million in restructuring and related charges for FY2025 as part of this ongoing optimization.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the hard numbers for John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s revenue streams as of late 2025. Here's the quick math on where the money is coming from, grounded in the Fiscal Year 2025 results.

The total reported revenue for John Wiley & Sons, Inc. for the full year ended April 30, 2025, was $1,678 million.

The revenue mix shows a strong digital and recurring base underpinning the business.

• Around half of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s revenue is recurring.
• Over 80% of revenue is from digital products and services.
• The corporate market makes up about 10% of the revenue base.

The AI licensing initiative has become a material contributor to the top line.

• Total AI licensing revenue realized in Fiscal 2025 was $40 million.
• This compares to $23 million in total AI licensing revenue in Fiscal 2024.

Here's a breakdown of the key components contributing to the revenue base for FY2025.

Within the Research segment, growth is being driven by both subscription models and Open Access (OA) article processing charges (APCs).

• Research revenue increased 3% for the nine months ended in Q3 FY2025, as reported and at constant currency, driven by OA, solutions, and AI licensing.
• Excluding AI revenue, Research revenue rose 2% in the quarter and year-to-date (both at constant currency).

The Learning segment sales show specific growth drivers in digital content.

• Academic growth, excluding AI licensing, was driven by strong demand for inclusive access and digital courseware.
• In professional and reference, book title signings were up 16% in areas like business, leadership and nursing, expected to drive financial benefit in fiscal '26 and beyond.