WLYB JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.

NYSE Books: Publishing or Publishing & Printing NY CIK: 0000107140
AI RATING
SELL
65% Confidence

Investment Thesis

Declining revenue (-10.4% YoY) combined with critically weak liquidity ratios (current ratio 0.59x) and elevated debt leverage present significant financial stress. Despite temporary profitability improvements from cost-cutting, the publishing business faces structural headwinds with insufficient liquid assets to cover short-term obligations, creating material refinancing and operational risk.

Strengths

  • + Positive free cash flow of $65.3M demonstrates underlying operational cash generation
  • + Net income surged 142% YoY and operating cash flow remains solid at $103.3M
  • + Still profitable with 7% net margin despite significant revenue decline

Risks

  • ! Revenue declining 10.4% YoY indicates severe structural headwinds in publishing industry
  • ! Current ratio of 0.59x signals critical liquidity crisis with current liabilities exceeding current assets by 70%
  • ! High leverage ($807.5M debt vs $750M equity) combined with deteriorating revenue creates refinancing risk and limits financial flexibility

Key Metrics to Watch

Financial Metrics

Revenue
1.2B
Net Income
86.3M
EPS (Diluted)
$1.62
Free Cash Flow
65.3M
Total Assets
2.6B
Cash
95.1M

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin 107.1%
Operating Margin 13.6%
Net Margin 7.0%
ROE 11.5%
ROA 3.4%
FCF Margin 5.3%

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Current Ratio
0.59x
Quick Ratio
0.57x
Debt/Equity
1.08x
Debt/Assets
70.7%
Interest Coverage
3.40x
Long-term Debt
807.5M
Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI based on publicly available SEC EDGAR filings. It does not include stock price data and should not be considered financial advice. All fundamental data is sourced from SEC public domain filings. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Data Source: SEC EDGAR | Analysis Date: 2026-04-19T07:21:26.502204 | Data as of: 2026-01-31 | Powered by Claude AI