{"url_path":"/sec/wly/10-k/2026/item-1a","section_key":"item-1a","section_title":"Item 1A Risk Factors","topic":"sec","document":{"doc_type":"10-K","doc_date":"2026-06-24","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/107140/0001628280-26-045111-index.html","accession_number":"0001628280-26-045111","cik":"0000107140","ticker":"WLY","issuer_name":"JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.","edgar_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/107140/0001628280-26-045111-index.html","primary_entity_key":"0000107140","primary_entity_name":"JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC."},"word_count":7517,"has_tables":true,"body_markdown":"Item 1A. Risk Factors\n\nIntroduction\n\nThe risks described below should be carefully considered before making an investment decision. You should carefully consider all the information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the following risk factors, before deciding to invest in any of our securities. This Annual Report on Form 10-K also contains, or may incorporate by reference, forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See the “Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” immediately preceding Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The risks below are not the only risk factors we face. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we presently deem insignificant could impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations. Our businesses, consolidated financial position, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of our securities could decline due to any of these risks, and investors may lose all or part of their investment.\n\nStrategic Risks\n\nOur business may be adversely impacted if we cannot protect our intellectual property.\n\nOur business depends on our intellectual property, including our valuable trademarks and copyrighted content. A substantial portion of our publications are protected by copyright, held either in our name, in the name of the author of the work, or in the name of a sponsoring professional society. Such copyrights protect our exclusive right to publish the work in many countries abroad for specified periods, in most cases the author’s life plus 70 years. We believe the protection and monetization of our proprietary trademarks and copyrighted content, as well as other intellectual property, is critical to our continued success and our competitive position. Our ability to do so is subject to the inherent limitation in protections available under intellectual property laws in the US and other applicable jurisdictions. Unauthorized parties could unlawfully misappropriate our brand, content, technology, and other intellectual property and may continue to do so, and the measures we have taken to protect and enforce our proprietary rights may not be sufficient to fully address or prevent all third-party infringement.\n\nWhile advancements in technology, including artificial intelligence (collectively, AI Technologies), present meaningful opportunities for our business, they also introduce new challenges in protecting our intellectual property. Detection of unauthorized use of our intellectual property and enforcement of our intellectual property rights have become more challenging due to the increasing volume and sophistication of attempts at unauthorized use. As our business and the presence and impact of bad actors become more global in scope, we may not be able to protect our proprietary rights in a cost-effective manner in other jurisdictions. In addition, intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which our products and services are distributed or made available through the internet.\n\nIf we are unable to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, we may not succeed in realizing the full value of our assets, our business and profitability may be adversely impacted, and our brand may be tarnished by misuse of our intellectual property.\n\nWe may not be able to realize the expected benefits of our growth strategies, as described in Item 1. Business, which could adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nWe may not be able to adequately drive publishing output and journal expansion to meet the global demand for peer-reviewed research, nor expand related licensing, platform, and service offerings for institutions, corporations, and societies.\n\nTechnological developments in AI could disrupt the markets in which we operate and subject us to increased competition, cannibalization, legal and regulatory risks, and compliance costs.\n\nTechnological developments in AI, including machine learning technology, large language models, and AI Technologies and their current and potential future applications, are rapidly evolving. The full extent of current or future risks related thereto is not possible to predict. AI Technologies could significantly disrupt the markets in which we operate and subject us to increased competition, legal and regulatory risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, the sale of new products leveraging AI Technologies may result in the cannibalization of sales for existing products, which may harm our results of operations.\n\n13\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nWe intend to seek to avail ourselves of the potential benefits, insights, and efficiencies that are available through the use of AI Technologies, which presents a number of potential risks that cannot be fully mitigated. If the content, analyses, or recommendations that AI Technologies assist in producing are, or are alleged to be, deficient, inaccurate, biased, or otherwise problematic, our reputation may be adversely affected. In addition, the introduction of generative AI tools into our business may negatively impact our workplace culture and ability to attract and retain employees if generative AI tools are viewed as displacing workers. Generative AI also presents emerging legal and ethical issues, and terms governing the use of generative AI are subject to change. Accordingly, our use of, or perceptions of the way that we use, generative AI could adversely affect our business, brand, financial condition, or results of operations. There is also a risk that AI Technologies may be misused or misappropriated by our employees and/or third parties engaged.\n\nFurther, we may not be able to control how third-party AI Technologies that we choose to use are developed or maintained, or how data we input is used or disclosed, even where we have sought contractual protections with respect to these matters. The misuse or misappropriation of our data could have an adverse impact on our reputation and could subject us to legal and regulatory investigations and/or actions.\n\nRegulations related to AI Technologies may also impose on us certain obligations and costs related to monitoring and compliance. In the US, multiple federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, have expressed interest in monitoring the development and use of automated systems and enforcing their respective laws and regulations in the context of AI. While the current administration has taken a deregulatory approach to AI, including revoking the prior administration's 2023 executive order establishing federal AI safety and security policies and oversight requirements, the regulatory environment remains dynamic and subject to change. In addition to the US regulatory framework, the EU has enacted comprehensive regulation applicable to certain AI systems and the data used to train, test, and deploy them. The regulation is being implemented on a phased basis, with the majority of obligations applicable from August 2026 and certain provisions for high-risk AI systems phased in through 2027 and 2028. It imposes, or is expected to impose, significant requirements on both providers and deployers of AI systems. Implementation guidance and compliance obligations continue to be refined.\n\nReductions in or restrictions on federal research funding and changes to US higher education policy may adversely affect our business.\n\nOur operations and revenue are partially dependent on funding for research and spending by publicly funded institutions, including public libraries, colleges, and universities. Federally supported research has faced disruption through a combination of proposed budget reductions, administrative actions affecting grant funding and agency operations, and ongoing legal challenges, the cumulative impact of which cannot be fully determined at this time. While Congress has not to date enacted the most significant proposed reductions in agency appropriations, reflecting continued bipartisan recognition of the essential role that federal research funding plays in US economic growth and global competitiveness, the effects of federal actions continue to evolve and generate uncertainty.\n\nWiley is a global business and enjoys healthy geographic revenue distribution and funding diversity worldwide. The current funding environment remains fluid, with ongoing legal challenges, congressional appropriations debates, and administrative actions that continue to evolve. We cannot predict the ultimate scope of these developments, the extent to which they may influence funding policies in other countries, or their full impact on our customers or our business, but such actions may have a significant and negative effect on our US market.\n\n14\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nDivestitures could adversely affect our business and financial results and may introduce significant risks and uncertainties.\n\nWe continually evaluate the performance and strategic fit of all of our businesses and may sell businesses or product lines. We completed the divestiture of our non-core education businesses that no longer aligned with our strategic direction or growth targets, as previously disclosed. While these divestitures have been finalized, certain financial arrangements associated with these transactions, including Sellers Notes and earnout provisions, continue to present potential risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial position, and consolidated results of operations. These post-divestiture financial arrangements require ongoing monitoring and management attention to ensure compliance with agreement terms and to mitigate potential adverse impacts on our financial position. If the buyers of our divested businesses experience operational or financial difficulties, our ability to collect on Sellers Notes or realize anticipated earnout payments could be impaired. [See Note 4](#i07300a4eeb7a47b3860e2ee1f39a3e3f_10911), \"Acquisition and Divestitures\" for further details.\n\nA reduction in enrollment at colleges and universities could adversely affect the demand for our Academic products.\n\nEnrollment in US colleges and universities can be adversely affected by many factors, including changes in government and private student loan and grant programs, uncertainty about current and future economic conditions, increases in tuition, general decreases in family income and net worth, and low unemployment due to an active job market. In addition, enrollment levels at colleges and universities outside the US are influenced by global and local economic factors, local political conditions, and other factors that make predicting foreign enrollment levels difficult. Reductions in expected levels of enrollment at colleges and universities within the US could adversely affect demand for our higher education offerings, which could adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nIf we are unable to retain key talent and other colleagues, our consolidated financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.\n\nThe Company and industry are highly dependent on the loyal engagement of key leaders and colleagues. Loss of talent due to inadequate skills and career path development or maintaining competitive salaries and benefits could have a significant impact on Company performance.\n\nWe are highly dependent on the continued services of key talent who have in-depth market and business knowledge and/or key relationships with business partners. The loss of the services of key talent for any reason and our inability to replace them with suitable candidates quickly or at all, as well as any negative market perception resulting from such loss, could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, and results of operations.\n\nWe have a significant investment in our colleagues around the world. We offer competitive salaries and benefits in order to attract and retain the highly skilled workforce needed to sustain and develop new products and services required for growth. Employment costs are affected by competitive market conditions for qualified individuals and factors such as healthcare and retirement benefit costs.\n\nThe competitive pressures we face in our business, as well as our ability to retain our business relationships with our authors and professional societies, could adversely affect our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nThe contribution of authors and their professional societies is one of the more important elements of the highly competitive publishing business. Success and continued growth depend greatly on developing new products and the means to deliver them in an environment of rapid technological change. Attracting new authors and professional societies while retaining our existing business relationships is critical to our success. If we are unable to retain our existing business relationships with authors and professional societies, this could have an adverse impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nThe demand for digital and lower cost books could impact our sales volumes and pricing in an adverse way.\n\nThe trend towards digital content has created contraction in the print book retail market which increases the risk of bankruptcy for certain retail customers, potentially leading to the disruption of short-term product supply to consumers, as well as potential bad debt write-offs.\n\n15\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nAs the market has shifted to digital products, customer expectations for lower-priced products have increased due to customer awareness of reductions in production costs and the availability of free or low-cost digital content and products. Increased customer demand for lower prices could reduce our revenue.\n\nDue to growing student demand for less expensive textbooks, many college bookstores, online retailers, and other entities, offer used or rental textbooks to students at lower prices than new textbooks. The Internet has made the used and rental textbook markets more efficient and has significantly increased student access to used and rental textbooks.\n\nInformation Technology Systems and Cybersecurity Risks\n\nOur Company is highly dependent on information technology systems and their business management and customer-facing capabilities, which are critical for the long-term competitive sustainability of the business. If we fail to innovate in response to rapidly evolving technological and market developments, our competitive position may be negatively impacted.\n\nWe must continue to invest in technology and other innovations to adapt and add value to our products and services to remain competitive. This is particularly true in the current environment, where investment in new technology is ongoing and there are rapid changes in the products competitors are offering, the products our customers are seeking, and our sales and distribution channels. In some cases, investments will take the form of internal development; in others, they may take the form of an acquisition. There are uncertainties whenever developing or acquiring new products and services, and it is often possible that such new products and services may not be launched, or, if launched, may not be profitable or as profitable as existing products and services. If we are unable to introduce new technologies, products, and services, our ability to be profitable may be adversely affected.\n\nWe cannot predict the effect of technological changes on our business. Failure to keep pace with these technological developments or otherwise bring to market products that reflect these technologies could have a material adverse impact on our overall business and results of operations. We may not be successful in anticipating or responding to these developments on a timely and cost-effective basis. Additionally, the effort to gain technological expertise and develop new technologies in our business requires us to incur significant expenses. If we cannot offer new technologies as quickly as our competitors, or if our competitors develop more cost-effective technologies or product offerings, we could experience a material adverse effect on our operating results, growth, and financial condition.\n\nWe may be susceptible to information technology risks that may adversely impact our business, consolidated financial position, and results of operations.\n\nInformation technology is a key part of our business strategy and operations. As a business strategy, Wiley’s technology enables us to provide customers with new and enhanced products and services and is critical to our success in migrating from print to digital business models. Information technology is also a fundamental component of all our business processes, collecting and reporting business data, and communicating internally and externally with customers, suppliers, employees, and others. We face technological risks associated with digital products and service delivery in our businesses, including with respect to information technology capability, reliability, security, enterprise resource planning, system implementations, and upgrades. Across our businesses, we hold personal data, including that of employees and customers. Failures of our information technology systems and products (including operational failure, natural disaster, computer virus, or cyberattacks) could interrupt the availability of our digital products and services, result in corruption or loss of data or breach in security, and result in liability or reputational damage to our brands and/or adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nManagement has designed and implemented policies, processes, and controls to mitigate risks of information technology failure and to provide security from unauthorized access to our systems. In addition, we have disaster recovery plans in place to maintain business continuity for our key financial systems. While key financial systems have backup and tested disaster recovery systems, other applications and services have limited backup and recovery procedures which may delay or prevent recovery in case of disaster. The size and complexity of our information technology and information security systems, and those of our third-party vendors with whom we contract, make such systems potentially vulnerable to cyberattacks common to most industries from inadvertent or intentional actions by employees, vendors, or malicious third parties. While we have taken steps to address these risks, there can be no assurance that a system failure, disruption, or data security breach would not adversely affect our business and could have an adverse impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\n16\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nWe are continually improving and upgrading our computer systems and software. We have recently initiated a multiyear enterprise modernization program which includes various projects including the consolidation and transformation of our Research publishing infrastructure, and the future implementation of an updated global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to integrate and upgrade our operational and financial systems and processes. Implementation of this program and the related projects involves risks and uncertainties.\n\nThe risks associated with the transformation of our Research publishing infrastructure could include not realizing our projected business benefits of growing article submissions, reducing the time to publication, facilitating growth in open access with a modern open access payment infrastructure, and reducing the cost per article.\n\nAny disruptions, delays, or deficiencies in the design or implementation of a new ERP system could result in increased costs, disruptions in operations, or delays in the collection of cash from our customers, as well as having an adverse effect on our ability to timely report our financial results, all of which could materially adversely affect our business, consolidated financial position, and results of operations. While we have contingency support available, any major disruptions, while unlikely, may require a longer remediation time. This could impact our ability to process and fulfill orders for those businesses. We currently use a legacy platform with limited support for order management of the global Learning business. Any defects and disruptions in the legacy systems which cannot be addressed in a timely manner could impact our ability to process orders and reconcile financial statements. These legacy platforms are being evaluated as part of the recently initiated enterprise modernization program noted above.\n\nCyber risk and the failure to maintain the integrity of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties with which we do business, could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, and results of operations.\n\nThe cybersecurity risks we face range from cyberattacks common to most industries, such as the development and deployment of malicious software to gain access to our networks and attempt to steal confidential information, launch distributed denial of service attacks, or attempt other coordinated disruptions, to more advanced threats that target us because of our prominence in the global research and advisory field. Our employees work remotely, at least some of the time, which magnifies the importance of the integrity of our remote access security measures.\n\nLike many multinational corporations, we, and some third parties upon which we rely, have experienced cyberattacks on our computer systems and networks in the past and may experience them in the future, likely with more frequency and sophistication and involving a broader range of devices and modes of attack, all of which will increase the difficulty of detecting and successfully defending against them. To date, none have resulted in any material adverse impact on our business, operations, products, services, or customers. Wiley has invested heavily in cybersecurity tools and resources to keep our systems safe. We have implemented various security controls to meet our security obligations, while also defending against constantly evolving security threats. Our security controls help to secure our information systems, including our computer systems, intranet, proprietary websites, email, and other telecommunications and data networks, and we scrutinize the security of outsourced website(s) and service providers prior to retaining their services. However, the security measures implemented by us or by our outside service providers may not be effective, and our systems (and those of our outside service providers) may be vulnerable to theft, loss, damage, and interruption from a number of potential sources and events, including unauthorized access or security breaches, cyberattacks, computer viruses, power loss, or other disruptive events.\n\nThe security compliance landscape continues to evolve, requiring us to stay apprised of changes in cybersecurity, privacy laws and regulations, such as the following, but not limited to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD), and the Chinese Cybersecurity, Data Security and Personal Information Protection laws (PIPL). The UK ceased to be an EU Member State on January 31, 2020, but enacted the UK data protection law. It is unclear how UK data protection laws will continue to develop; however, contractual clauses have been established regulating data transfers to and from the UK. Some countries also are considering or have enacted legislation requiring local storage and processing of data that could increase the cost and complexity of delivering our services.\n\n17\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nIn addition to new and proposed data protection laws, we also stay apprised and adopt certain security standards required by our clients, such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Center for Internet Security (CIS). Recent well-publicized security breaches at other companies have led to enhanced government and regulatory scrutiny of the measures taken by companies to protect against cyberattacks and may in the future result in heightened cybersecurity requirements, including additional regulatory expectations for oversight of vendors and service providers.\n\nA cyberattack could cause delays in initiating or completing sales, impede delivery of our products and services to our clients, disrupt other critical client-facing or business processes, or dislocate our critical internal functions. Additionally, any material breaches or other technology-related catastrophe, or media reports of perceived security vulnerabilities to our systems or those of our third parties, even if no breach has been attempted or has occurred, could cause us to experience reputational harm, loss of customers and revenue, fines, regulatory actions and scrutiny, sanctions or other statutory penalties, litigation, liability for failure to safeguard our customers information, or financial losses.\n\nFor more information regarding our process for identifying, assessing and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats, refer to [Item 1C. Cybersecurity.](#ib031fc37a77d48668f901fa65eb2283b_5370)\n\nOperational Risks\n\nWe may not realize the anticipated cost savings and benefits from, or our business may be disrupted by, our continuous improvement efforts.\n\nWe will continue to explore opportunities to develop new business models and enhance the efficiency of our cost and organizational structure. The rapid pace and scope of change increases the risk that not all our strategic initiatives will deliver the expected benefits within the anticipated timeframes. In addition, these efforts may disrupt our business activities, which could adversely affect our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nWe continue to restructure and realign our cost base with current and anticipated future market conditions, including our Global Restructuring Program. Significant risks associated with these actions that may impair our ability to achieve the anticipated cost savings or that may disrupt our business, include delays in the implementation of anticipated workforce reductions in highly regulated locations outside of the US, decreases in employee morale, the failure to meet operational targets due to the loss of key employees, and disruptions of third parties to whom we have outsourced certain business functions. In addition, our ability to achieve the anticipated cost savings and other benefits from these actions within the expected timeframe is subject to many estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions are subject to significant economic, competitive, and other uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. If these estimates and assumptions are incorrect, if we experience delays, or if other unforeseen events occur, our business and consolidated financial position and results of operations could be adversely affected.\n\nWe may not realize the anticipated cost savings and processing efficiencies associated with the outsourcing of certain business processes.\n\nWe have outsourced certain business functions, principally in technology, content management, printing, warehousing, fulfillment, distribution, collections and returns processing, and certain other transactional processing functions, to third-party service providers to achieve cost savings and efficiencies. If these third-party service providers do not perform effectively, we may not be able to achieve the anticipated cost savings, and depending on the function involved, we may experience business disruption or processing inefficiencies, all with potential adverse effects on our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nChallenges and uncertainties associated with operating in certain global markets have a higher risk due to political instability, economic volatility, crime, terrorism, corruption, social and ethnic unrest, and other factors, which may adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nWe sell our products to customers in certain sanctioned and previously sanctioned developing markets in accordance with such restrictions. While sales in these markets are not material to our consolidated financial position and results of operations, adverse developments related to the risks associated with these markets may cause actual results to differ from historical and forecasted future consolidated operating results.\n\n18\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nWe have certain global operations related to software development and technology architecture, digital content production, and system testing services. Due to the political instability within certain regions, there is the potential for future government embargoes and sanctions, which could disrupt our operations in these areas. While we have developed business continuity plans to address these issues, further adverse developments in these regions could have a material impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nIn our Research segment, approximately 31% of the articles we published in calendar year 2025 included China-based authors. This compares to the industry percentage which is approximately 34% of articles published in calendar year 2025 which included China-based authors. Any restrictions on exporting intellectual property could adversely affect our business and consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nIn our journal publishing business, we have a trade concentration and credit risk related to subscription agents, and in our book business the industry has a concentration of customers in national, regional, and online book resellers. Changes in the financial position and liquidity of our subscription agents and customers could adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nIn the journal publishing business, some subscriptions are sourced through journal subscription agents who, acting as agents for library customers, facilitate ordering by consolidating the subscription orders/billings of each subscriber with various publishers. Cash is generally collected in advance from subscribers by the subscription agents and is principally remitted to us between the months of December and April. Although currently we have minimal credit risk exposure to these agents, future calendar-year subscription receipts from these agents are highly dependent on their financial condition and liquidity.\n\nSubscription agents account for approximately 19% of total annual consolidated revenue, and no one agent accounts for more than 10% of total annual consolidated revenue.\n\nOur book business is not dependent upon a single customer; however, the industry is concentrated in national, regional, and online book resellers. Although no book customer accounts for more than 6% of total consolidated revenue and 7% of accounts receivable, net at April 30, 2026, the top 10 book customers account for approximately 12% of total consolidated revenue and approximately 20% of accounts receivable, net at April 30, 2026.\n\nIn our Research business, a lack of integrity in our published research could adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nWe publish research authored by individuals outside our Company. The integrity of that research could be compromised due to the manipulation, misrepresentation, and misconduct by those individuals or other outsiders involved in the publishing process. This activity could adversely impact our open access publishing and article output by causing us to potentially pause publication, retract articles, or halt publication of a journal, which could adversely impact our business and consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nFinancial Risks\n\nVolatility in the financial markets and a related global economic downturn could impact our ability to access global credit markets and meet our future financing needs.\n\nDisruptions in credit markets or to our banking partners may negatively affect our access to credit or overall liquidity. We maintain levels of debt that we consider prudent based on our cash flows, interest coverage ratio and ratio of net debt to EBITDA. A disruption in the credit markets could increase our future borrowing costs and impair our ability to access capital and credit markets on terms commercially acceptable to us, which could adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources or significantly increase our cost of capital.\n\nWe continue to believe that we can meet our financing needs for the foreseeable future. We typically generate significant operating cash flow from ongoing operations, continue to maintain available cash and other financial assets, retain access to the capital markets, and have available committed lines of credit through our syndicated credit agreement. As market conditions change, we will continue to monitor our liquidity position. However, there can be no assurance that our liquidity or our consolidated financial position and results of operations will not be adversely affected by possible future changes in global financial markets and global economic conditions.\n\n19\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nFluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates could materially impact our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.\n\nNon-US revenues, as well as our substantial non-US net assets, expose our consolidated results to volatility from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The percentage of consolidated revenue for the year ended April 30, 2026, recognized in the following currencies (on an equivalent US dollar basis) were approximately: 51% US dollar, 29% British pound sterling, 12% euro, and 8% other currencies. In addition, our floating interest rate loans and borrowings are subject to risk from changes in interest rates. We may, from time to time, use derivative instruments to hedge such risks. Notwithstanding our efforts to foresee and mitigate the effects of changes in external financial market or economic conditions, we cannot predict with certainty changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates, inflation, or other related factors affecting our business, consolidated financial position, and results of operations.\n\nWe may not be able to mitigate the impact of inflation and cost increases, which could have an adverse impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nFrom time to time, we experience cost increases reflecting, in part, general inflationary factors. There is no guarantee that we can increase selling prices or reduce costs to fully mitigate the effect of inflation on our costs, which may adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nAs a result of acquisitions, we have and may record a significant amount of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets, and we may never realize the full carrying value of these assets.\n\nAs a result of acquisitions, we recorded a significant amount of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. At April 30, 2026, we had $1,132.4 million of goodwill and $579.0 million of intangible assets, of which $127.2 million are indefinite-lived intangible assets, on our Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. The intangible assets are principally composed of content and publishing rights, customer relationships, brands and trademarks, and developed technology. Failure to achieve business objectives and financial projections could result in an asset impairment, which would result in a noncash charge to our consolidated results of operations. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment on an annual basis and when events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. Intangible assets with definite lives, which were $451.8 million at April 30, 2026, are tested for impairment only when events or changes in circumstances indicate that an impairment may have occurred. Determining whether an impairment exists can be difficult as a result of increased uncertainty and current market dynamics and requires management to make significant estimates and judgments. A noncash intangible asset impairment charge could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position and results of operations. [See Note 11](#i1c5b5abc6bc24bc48f5fae79ca9c6582_12469), “Goodwill and Intangible Assets” for further information related to goodwill and intangible assets, and the impairment charges recorded in the year ended April 30, 2024.\n\nLegal, Regulatory, and Compliance Risks\n\nChanges in laws, tariffs, and regulations, including regulations related to open access, could adversely impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nWe maintain operations in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, South America, the Middle East, and the US. The conduct of our business, including the sourcing of content, distribution, sales, marketing, and advertising, is subject to various laws and regulations administered by governments around the world. Changes in laws, regulations, or government policies, including tax regulations and accounting standards, may adversely affect our future consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\n20\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nThe scientific research publishing industry generates much of its revenue from paid customer subscriptions to online and print journal content. There is interest within government, academic, and library communities for such journal content to be made available for free immediately or following a period of embargo after publication, referred to as open access. For instance, certain governments and privately held funding bodies have implemented mandates that require journal articles derived from government-funded research to be made available to the public at no cost immediately or after an embargo period. Open access can be achieved in two ways: Green, which enables authors to publish articles in subscription-based journals and self–archive the author accepted version of the article for free public use immediately or after any embargo period; and Gold, which enables authors to publish their articles in journals that provide immediate free access to the final version of the article on the publisher’s website, and elsewhere under permissive licensing terms, following payment or waiver of an APC. These mandates have the potential to put pressure on subscription-based publications. If such regulations are widely implemented, our consolidated financial position and results of operations could be adversely affected.\n\nTo date, many of the governments and national research councils that have taken a position on open access have favored the Green model and have generally specified embargo periods of twelve months. The publishing community generally takes the view that this period should be sufficient to protect subscription revenues, provided that publishers’ platforms offer sufficient added value to the article. Governments in Europe have been more supportive of the Gold model, which thus far is generating incremental revenue for publishers with active open access programs. Many institutions have signed on to the business model which combines the purchasing of subscription content with the purchase of open access publishing for affiliated authors. This development removes an element of risk by fixing revenues from that market, provided that the terms, price, and rate of transition negotiated are acceptable.\n\nIncreases in income tax rates, changes in income tax laws or regulations, or unfavorable resolutions of tax matters could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.\n\nWe are subject to tax laws in the jurisdictions of the US and numerous other jurisdictions in which we conduct business. Wiley’s results of operations could be adversely affected by a change in the consolidated effective tax rate as a result of a change in a number of factors including the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, the result of audits of previously filed tax returns, the cost of repatriation, or changes in tax laws and regulations and the interpretations thereof in the jurisdictions where we operate.\n\nMany jurisdictions have enacted legislation based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Pillar Two framework, which establishes a global minimum tax rate of 15% on a country-by-country basis for large multinational enterprises. Numerous countries, including European Union member states, have implemented these rules with effect from 2024, and additional jurisdictions continue to adopt or refine their implementing legislation.\n\nIn January 2026, the OECD released a Side-by-Side (SbS) Safe Harbor, which allows US-parented multinational groups to elect an exemption from two of Pillar Two's principal charging provisions — the Income Inclusion Rule (IIR) and the Undertaxed Profits Rule (UTPR). As a US-parented company, we expect to be eligible to elect this safe harbor for fiscal year 2027. Notwithstanding, Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Taxes (QDMTTs) enacted by jurisdictions in which we operate remain applicable, the safe harbor does not apply retroactively to fiscal years 2025 and 2026, and the timing of domestic legislative adoption across implementing jurisdictions remains uncertain.\n\nThis increasingly complex and evolving global tax environment has in the past and could continue to increase tax uncertainty and compliance costs, and we cannot predict the full impact of future changes to the framework on our provision for income taxes and financial performance.\n\nIn addition, we are subject to potential taxes in jurisdictions where we have sales, even though we do not have a physical presence, and these potential taxes could have an impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations. Economic and political pressures to increase tax revenues in jurisdictions in which we operate, or the adoption of new or reformed tax legislation or regulation, has made and could continue to make resolving tax disputes more difficult. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final resolution of tax audits and any related litigation can materially differ from our historical income tax provisions and accruals, resulting in an adverse effect on our financial performance.\n\n21\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nA disruption or loss of data sources could limit our collection and use of certain kinds of information, which could adversely impact our communication with our customers.\n\nSeveral of our businesses rely extensively upon content and data from external sources. Data is obtained from public records, governmental authorities, customers, and other information companies, including competitors. Legal regulations, such as the EU’s GDPR, relating to Internet communications, privacy and data protection, e-commerce, information governance, and use of public records, are becoming more prevalent worldwide. The disruption or loss of data sources, either because of changes in the law or because data suppliers decide not to supply them, may impose limits on our collection and use of certain kinds of information about individuals and our ability to communicate such information effectively with our customers. In addition, GDPR imposes a strict data protection compliance regime with severe penalties of up to 4% of worldwide revenue or €20 million, whichever is greater.\n\nIf we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired.\n\nWe are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Sarbanes-Oxley Act), and the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are required to perform system and process evaluations and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This may require us to incur substantial additional professional fees and internal costs to further expand our accounting and finance functions and expend significant management efforts.\n\nWe may in the future discover material weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements. In addition, our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to errors or fraud will not occur, or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.\n\nIf we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If that were to happen, the market price of our stock could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities.\n\nGeneral Risks\n\nGlobal economic, market, public health, and geopolitical conditions or other events could negatively impact our consolidated financial positions and results of operations.\n\nWe are exposed to risks and uncertainties caused by factors beyond our control, including global economic, public health, and geopolitical conditions. These include economic weakness, softness in consumer and corporate spending, uncertainty and volatility, including the potential for a recession; a competitive labor market and evolving workforce expectations; inflation, rising interest rates; public health crisis, including pandemics; financial stability of the banking industry, and political and sociopolitical uncertainties and conflicts. The potential escalation of trade tensions between the US and China could slow down China's economy, which could impact Research Publishing, and increase risks related to exchange rate fluctuations. These factors may result in declines and/or volatility in our results or stock price. Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment, or continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions. Our business could also be impacted by volatility caused by geopolitical events, such as the conflict in Ukraine and instability in the Middle East. In addition, the actual or perceived effects of a disease outbreak, epidemic, pandemic, or similar widespread public health concern, could also materially and adversely affect our results. The future impact that global economic, public health, and geopolitical conditions will have on our business operations and financial results is uncertain and will depend on numerous evolving factors and developments that we are not able to reliably predict or mitigate. It is also possible that these conditions may impact other risks discussed in this section.\n\n22\n\n[Index](#i4999d179a1ee4db3afe68151d34a8db6_7)\n\nChanges in US and foreign government administrative policy, including the imposition of or increases in tariffs and changes to existing trade agreements, and other changes to macroeconomic conditions could have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and our business, results of operations, and financial condition.\n\nChanges in US and foreign government administrative policy, including the imposition of or increases in tariffs and changes to existing trade agreements, and other changes to macroeconomic conditions could have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and our business, results of operations, and financial condition.\n\nAs a predominantly digital content and services business, our direct exposure to goods tariffs is limited. However, these and any further tariff actions and trade restrictions could depress economic activity, constrain the budgets of our institutional customers, and restrict our access to suppliers or customers and, in turn, have a material adverse effect on the business and financial condition of such suppliers and customers or other counterparties we do business with, which in turn would negatively impact our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nThe trading price of the shares of our common stock may fluctuate materially, and investors of our common stock could incur substantial losses.\n\nOur stock price may fluctuate materially. The stock market in general has experienced significant volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of companies. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell their common stock at or above the price paid for the shares. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:\n\n•Actual or anticipated changes in our consolidated operating results;\n\n•Variances between actual consolidated operating results and the expectations of securities analysts, investors, and the financial community;\n\n•Changes in financial estimates by us or by any securities analysts who might cover our stock;\n\n•Conditions or trends in our industry, the stock market, or the economy;\n\n•The level of demand for our stock, the stock market price, and volume fluctuations of comparable companies;\n\n•Announcements by us or our competitors of new product or service offerings, significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, or divestitures;\n\n•Announcements of investigations or regulatory scrutiny of our operations or lawsuits filed against us;\n\n•Capital commitments;\n\n•Investors’ general perception of the Company and our business;\n\n•Recruitment or departure of key personnel; and\n\n•Sales of our common stock, including sales by our directors and officers or specific stockholders.\n\nAdverse publicity could negatively impact our reputation, which could adversely affect our consolidated financial position and results of operations.\n\nOur professional customers worldwide rely upon many of our publications to perform their jobs. It is imperative that we consistently demonstrate our ability to maintain the integrity of the information included in our publications. Adverse publicity, whether valid or not, may reduce demand for our publications and adversely affect our consolidated financial position and results of operations."}