HIGHOutside partySupplier
Cengage Learning (US book distribution)
“10-K Item 1: 'We have an agreement to outsource our US-based book distribution operations to Cengage Learning'”
WLY · Concentration risk · 10-K extracted
John Wiley & Sons (WLY) concentration risks
Updated
The most significant concentration John Wiley & Sons discloses is Cengage Learning (US book distribution), classified HIGH by disclosed size. Below: the full set from the latest 10-K — verbatim quotes, filing references, and a synthesis of what these exposures mean together.
Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Show full disclosure ▾Hide full disclosure ▴
About TrendMatrix. TrendMatrix is a publisher of general securities research and market commentary. We publish on a regular schedule. All content is the same for every subscriber in a tier — we do not provide personalized investment advice and we do not take into account any individual subscriber's financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, tax situation, or holdings.
Not investment advice. TrendMatrix is not a registered investment adviser. Our content is for informational and educational purposes only. Consult your own licensed investment adviser, broker, or tax professional before making any investment decision.
Conflicts and positions. The TrendMatrix editorial team frequently holds personal long-term positions in securities discussed. We disclose positions held at the time of publication on each piece. We maintain a trading-window policy: we do not initiate or close positions in the same direction as a TrendMatrix publication within 24 hours before or 72 hours after publication.
No paid promotion. TrendMatrix does not accept payment from any issuer, broker, or third party in exchange for coverage of any security. Our sole compensation is subscription revenue.
No fiduciary duty. No fiduciary, advisory, or agency relationship is created between you and TrendMatrix by reading our content or subscribing to our service.
Performance. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures reflect the published model only and do not reflect any individual subscriber's actual results.
Source: John Wiley & Sons’s SEC Form 10-K filed — view the filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
At a glance
Disclosed-size breakdown · 3 disclosed concentrations
HIGH1
MEDIUM2
LOW0
Disclosed concentrations
Each card carries a disclosed-size chip (HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW — how large the exposure is as a share of revenue, not how dangerous it is) and a nature tag: Built-in(the company’s own model, geography, or products) or Outside party (an external customer, supplier, or distributor it relies on).
MEDIUMOutside partySupplier
46%
societies and publishing partners (Journal Subscriptions)
“10-K Item 1: 'Approximately 46% of Journal Subscriptions revenue is derived from publication rights that are owned by professional societies and other publishing partners'”
MEDIUMOutside partyGeographic
30%
China-based authors
“10-K Item 1A: 'approximately 30% of the articles we published in calendar year 2024 included China-based authors'”
TrendMatrix Research · concentration synthesis
What these concentrations mean together
updated 2026-08-02John Wiley & Sons discloses three distinct concentration exposures spanning distribution, publishing rights, and authorship. On distribution, the company has outsourced its US-based book distribution operations to Cengage Learning, a high-share dependency on a single logistics and fulfillment partner for a core market. On the content side, approximately 46% of Journal Subscriptions revenue is derived from publication rights owned by professional societies and other publishing partners, a medium-share dependency reflecting that a substantial portion of Wiley's flagship subscription revenue rests on maintaining relationships with external rights holders rather than proprietary content. Separately, approximately 30% of the articles published in calendar year 2024 included China-based authors, a medium-share dependency tied to geopolitical, academic, and regulatory conditions affecting one country's research community. None of the three exposures overlaps directly, but together they describe a business whose core value chain — distribution, content rights, and authorship — each carry a named, non-trivial reliance on external parties rather than fully in-house or diversified alternatives. Of the three, the Cengage distribution relationship is the most concentrated in share terms, while the publishing-partner and China-authorship exposures are more moderate but still material to Wiley's research publishing franchise.
For the engine’s reasoning on WLY’s current verdict — including which dimensions drove the score — see the per-dimension breakdown.
Industry peers · Publishing
Peer concentration profile
| Symbol | Name | HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WLY● | John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| WLYB | John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| TDAY | USA TODAY Co., Inc. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| NYT | New York Times Company (The) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| SCHL | Scholastic Corporation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Concentration counts reflect items disclosed in each peer’s most recent 10-K; disclosed-size classification uses TrendMatrix’s internal 10-K extraction taxonomy.