Scholastic vs John Wiley & Sons
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Scholastic and John Wiley & Sons side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- John Wiley & Sons is the larger business, with $1.7B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $1.6B for Scholastic.
- John Wiley & Sons grew revenue faster (−0.1%, against −2.7%).
- John Wiley & Sons kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.5% operating margin, against 1.0%).
- John Wiley & Sons turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.5% FCF margin, against 0.2%).
- John Wiley & Sons earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (19.0%, against 1.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Scholastic’s earnings: a P/E of 27.1x against 14.5x for John Wiley & Sons.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Scholastic
SCHL
3/11
5-year growthNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
John Wiley & Sons
WLY
8/11
Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-score
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | SCHL FY26 | WLY FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $728M | $2.7B |
| Revenue | $1.6B | $1.7B |
| Free cash flow | $2.5M | $209M |
| Net income | $56.7M | $222M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −2.7% | −0.1% |
| 5-year growth | 4.0% | −2.9% |
| Share count change | −12.3% | −2.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 56.4% | 74.3% |
| Operating margin | 1.0% | 16.5% |
| Net margin | 3.6% | 13.2% |
| FCF margin | 0.2% | 12.5% |
| Return on capital | 1.1% | 19.0% |
| Return on equity | 6.7% | 27.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$45.0M | $608M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.7x | 1.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $286M | $175M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 27.1x | 14.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 8 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.