Publishing

Scholastic reported a first-quarter net loss of $71.2 million, or $3.77 per share, on revenue that slipped 4% to $216.8 million, while management left its full-year targets untouched. The quarter is the quietest stretch of Scholastic's year, making up only 14% of full-year revenue last year, so the real test is the fall, where Book Fairs bookings and fair counts are both running ahead of last year and the company is reaching new school communities including Christian schools. Content catalysts are stacking up: an HBO adaptation of Harry Potter arrives this Christmas, a new Dog Man title lands in November alongside a Hunger Games film, and entertainment revenue rose 48% to $20.1 million on heavier production activity. The balance sheet improved as net debt fell to $86.8 million from $242.8 million a year earlier, largely on sale-leaseback deals completed in December 2025, and the company bought back $25.8 million of its own stock during the quarter. Still, education revenue fell $9.7 million to $30.4 million amid higher district staffing costs and the end of ESSER pandemic relief funding in March, overhead climbed $5 million to $23.3 million, and free cash use for the quarter was $110.8 million, worse than last year's $100.2 million, leaving full-year adjusted EBITDA targets of $135 million to $145 million and free cash flow of $35 million to $40 million to be built on top of a first-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss of $63.6 million.

Zhejiang Publishing Media announced on September 30 that it plans to invest 100 million yuan to establish a wholly owned subsidiary, Zhejiang Wending Digital Intelligence Technology, to promote deep integration between its core publishing business and digital intelligence technologies. The new subsidiary has registered capital of 100 million yuan, with the company holding 60 percent directly, wholly owned subsidiary Zhejiang Xinhua Bookstore Group holding 20 percent, Zhejiang Education Publishing Group holding 10 percent, and Zhejiang Electronic Audio and Video Publishing House holding 10 percent. Funding comes from its own resources, and the subsidiary will be consolidated into the company's financial statements upon completion. On the same day, the company also announced a partnership with Dunhong Asset to launch the Zhejiang Publishing Future Venture Capital Fund Partnership. The fund has a planned size of 126 million yuan, and the company, as a limited partner, will subscribe 125 million yuan from its own funds, accounting for 99.21 percent of the fund's total committed capital. The fund will focus mainly on core technology research and development and industrial application in frontier technologies. Dunhong Asset was founded in 2015, with directly managed and co-managed funds totaling over 14 billion yuan in paid-in capital. Its core management includes CEO Yuan Guoliang and partners Xiong Jia and Yu Wenchao. In terms of performance, in the first half of 2026, Zhejiang Publishing Media achieved revenue of 4.607 billion yuan, down 9.5 percent year on year, and net profit attributable to the parent of 646 million yuan, down 4.4 percent year on year.

Scholastic said Tuesday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cottage Door Press, an independent children's publisher of early childhood books, for about $71M. The company said the strategic acquisition will expand Scholastic's position in the early childhood book market, a key focus area, by adding a proven independent publisher with distinctive strengths in early childhood and novelty formats. Cottage Door's Luna StoryTime products, a line of interactive electronic toys, will be spun off before closing and will not be acquired by Scholastic as part of the transaction. Cottage Door Press generated about $45 million in net revenue and was profitable during the twelve months ended May 31, 2026, and the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026. Scholastic expects the acquisition to contribute to revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2027 and to be accretive in its second year following close, including anticipated synergies.

Rongxin Culture announced on September 29 that its wholly-owned subsidiary Rongxin International plans to sell its 25% stake in the U.S.-based Cottage Door Press, LLC. After the transaction, the company will no longer hold any CDP equity. Scholastic Inc. plans to acquire all of CDP's equity at a base consideration of 71 million U.S. dollars, with Rongxin International's 25% stake being part of this overall acquisition.

Pearson and Namibox formally signed a strategic cooperation memorandum during the 48th WorldSkills Competition, launching the third phase of their collaboration following their 2018 strategic cooperation and the 2020 joint launch of the Pearson Teaching Box. The first products from the partnership will launch in Greater China and subsequently expand globally, with the initial phase expected to cover millions of learners. Pearson, a global lifelong learning company and a strategic investor in Namibox, provides English assessment standards and instructional systems validated over a century, while Namibox contributes local learning data and scenario-based delivery capabilities built on learning behavior data from tens of millions of users in China. Namibox Founder and CEO Xu Jin said Pearson has a century-spanning system of premium global education resources and a highly influential English learning product matrix, while Namibox excels at using digital technology to transform high-quality content into vivid learning experiences better tailored to local users. The global AI education market was valued at approximately US$7.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach about US$42.5 billion by 2030, a CAGR of over 41%, while China's GenAI plus education products and services market reached RMB 344.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach RMB 891 billion by 2028, a CAGR of over 37%.

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $6.60 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.48 per share, sending its shares up 2.9%. Shares of People Inc. jumped 11.3% following a Wall Street Journal report that MGM Resorts International is considering acquiring the company. Akamai Technologies Inc. gained 3.2% after entering a seven-year power deal with AI giant Anthropic worth $11.6 billion. Scholastic Corp. tumbled 7.1% after posting a first-quarter fiscal 2027 adjusted loss of $3.63 per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $3.42 per share.

Xinhua Media opened at the daily limit-up on the morning of September 28, achieving five limit-up boards in five days. As of the midday close, the share price was 8.55 yuan per share, with a total market value of 8.9 billion yuan. The trigger for this rally was the company's planned major asset restructuring: on the evening of September 18, Xinhua Media disclosed a preliminary plan for asset acquisition and related-party transaction, proposing to purchase 100% equity of Jiemian Cailianshe by issuing shares to 13 counterparties including Shanghai United Media Group Culture New Media Investment Management Company. The company's shares resumed trading on September 21. In terms of shareholding structure, Shanghai United Media Group directly and indirectly holds 51.49% of Xinhua Media, and its wholly owned subsidiary Wenxin Investment holds 37.63% of Jiemian Cailianshe. Therefore, this transaction is expected to constitute a major asset restructuring and related-party transaction, but not a reverse merger. Before and after the transaction, the controlling shareholder of the company remains Shanghai United Media Group, and the actual controller remains the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, so it is not expected to cause a change in control of the company. On September 25, Xinhua Media announced that its stock price had risen by a cumulative deviation of more than 20% over three consecutive trading days on September 21, 22, and 23, and on September 24 the stock again closed at the daily limit-up price. The stock price has fluctuated sharply in the short term, and there may be irrational speculation. According to data published on the official website of China Securities Index Company as of September 23, 2026, the latest rolling price-to-earnings ratio for the company's industry classification, R86 News and Publishing, was 17.83, while the company's latest rolling price-to-earnings ratio was 172.86, significantly higher than the industry average.

Xinhua Media hit the daily limit-up again in early trading on September 28, recording five limit-up boards in five days, with the highest order amount approaching 10 billion yuan. The core trigger for this rally is the company's planned major asset restructuring, under which it intends to acquire 100% equity in Shanghai Jiemian Cailianshe Technology Co., Ltd., a leading domestic financial new media firm, through a share issuance. The company announced on September 24 that its stock price had risen by more than 20% cumulatively over the three consecutive trading days from September 21 to 23, and closed at the limit-up price again on September 24. Short-term stock price volatility is relatively large, and there may be irrational speculation. The company's latest rolling price-to-earnings ratio is 172.86, significantly higher than the industry level of 17.83. Current production and operations are normal, the main business has not changed, and the above transaction still requires audit, evaluation and regulatory approval, with uncertainty remaining. Xinhua Media is the first listed cultural media enterprise in China, spanning the two major fields of book distribution and newspaper operations. It is the main capital platform under Shanghai United Media Group. Its book distribution business entity is the only enterprise in Shanghai using the collective trademark of Xinhua Bookstore, with more than 40 directly operated outlets including all Xinhua Bookstores and Shanghai Book City in Shanghai, and holds the distribution rights for kindergarten textbooks, primary and secondary school textbooks, and secondary vocational school textbooks in Shanghai. The company's 2026 semi-annual report disclosed on August 26 shows operating revenue of 631 million yuan, up 0.03% year on year; net profit attributable to the parent company of 32.76 million yuan, up 1.3% year on year; net profit attributable to the parent company after deducting non-recurring items successfully turned from a loss of 1.79 million yuan in the same period last year to a profit of 28.84 million yuan; net operating cash flow of 72.58 million yuan; and earnings per share of 0.031 yuan.

Akamai Technologies announced a seven-year contract and $11.6 billion deal with Anthropic, sending its shares up 5%, and issued a warrant letting Anthropic buy up to roughly 5% of its shares at an exercise price of $111.33 each. Atlas Energy Solutions rallied 17% after saying two subsidiaries executed separate cost reimbursement agreements with a leading frontier AI lab, while Genius Sports jumped 13% on a JPMorgan overweight initiation and Twilio fell about 6% after HSBC cut its rating to a sell equivalent. People Inc, the publisher owned by Barry Diller, rose 10% after The Wall Street Journal reported that MGM Resorts is weighing a bid to purchase the publishing giant, following People's withdrawal of its proposal to buy the casino operator. Scholastic slid 9% after posting an adjusted fiscal first-quarter loss of $3.63 per share on revenue of $216.8 million, a 4% year-over-year decline. Costco Wholesale rose 2.7% on better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results, earning an adjusted $6.60 per share on revenue of $95.72 billion, above the $6.53 per share and $94.86 billion analysts polled by LSEG expected, while Microsoft gained 3% on a refreshed Copilot app and Meta Platforms fell more than 3% as traders took profits.

Akamai Technologies shares jumped 23% after the company announced a seven-year, $11.6B agreement with Anthropic to provide cloud infrastructure and software supporting CPU workload growth at scale, a deal that could reach $20B if certain conditions are met. As part of the agreement, Akamai granted Anthropic warrants representing about 5% of its common stock, with 2% expected to vest initially and the remaining 3% tied to an additional $9B in cloud service purchases over the seven-year term. Fathom Holdings rose 23% and Neighborhood Intelligence gained 4% after the companies agreed to explore an alternative transaction replacing their previously announced merger agreement, under which NXH would contribute its roughly 38.8% direct and indirect stake in tZERO Group, Medici-related fund assets, and its investment in GrainChain to Fathom, with the contributed digital assets valued at no less than $130M, in return for newly issued Fathom shares and an expected controlling interest in Fathom. Select Water Solutions climbed 6% after agreeing to acquire private water midstream company Pilot Water Solutions for $700M in cash and stock, plus up to $15M in contingent consideration, comprising $600M in cash and $100M in Class A shares, with debt financing commitments from JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America and an expected close in Q4 2026. Scholastic plunged 12% after reporting wider-than-expected FQ1 losses and a 4% Y/Y revenue decline driven by soft educational spending, though it reaffirmed its full-year 2027 outlook for revenue growth of 2% to 4%, adjusted EBITDA of $135M to $145M, and free cash flow of $35M to $40M. Zscaler fell 4% after appointing Ross Tackett as Chief Revenue Officer effective October 1, 2026, succeeding Mike Rich, who is stepping down for personal reasons but will remain as a strategic advisor through December 31, 2026.

Xinhua Media, which plans a major asset restructuring, has hit its fourth consecutive daily limit up. On September 18, Xinhua Media announced a draft plan to issue shares to acquire assets and a related-party transaction, under which it intends to purchase, through share issuance, 100% equity in Shanghai Jiemian Cailianshe Technology Co., Ltd. from a total of 13 counterparties including Shanghai United Media Group Culture New Media Investment Management Co., Ltd. The transaction is expected to constitute a major asset restructuring. On September 24, Beijing Stock Exchange newcomer Bairui Ji opened 347.23% higher at 75 yuan on its first trading day, versus an issue price of 16.77 yuan, and had surged more than 460% as of press time. The company's main business is the research, production and sales of biomedical materials and other products. Multiple media-sector stocks have hit consecutive daily limit ups, with Xinhua Winshare at five straight limit ups, Xinhua Media at four, and Topway Video at three.

On September 24, major A-share indices opened lower, while the media sector bucked the trend in early trading. Xinhua Winshare hit its fifth consecutive limit-up, Xinhua Media its fourth, and Topway Video its third, with Guangdong Media and Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution also among the top gainers. In news, Xinhua Winshare recently announced plans to use its own funds to acquire the 100% equity stake in Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House held by its controlling shareholder, Sichuan Xinhua Publishing and Distribution Group, for 346 million yuan. The transaction constitutes a related-party transaction but does not constitute a major asset restructuring. On the same day, Bairui Gene debuted on the Beijing Stock Exchange, opening 347.23% higher and rising more than 400% as of press time, with an issue price of 16.77 yuan. The company focuses on the research, production, and sales of biomedical materials and other products. The AI-driven drug discovery concept saw a sudden surge, with Berry Genomics hitting the daily limit-up in a straight line, and BGI Genomics, Rongtai Health, Saili Medical, Sino Biological, and Kingmed Diagnostics following higher. This came after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and nine other departments jointly issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the development of the pharmaceutical industry, which explicitly calls for accelerating the use of artificial intelligence and other new technologies to empower drug research and development. The coal sector fluctuated higher, with Yunnan Coal Energy hitting the daily limit-up, briefly opening, and then sealing the limit-up again. Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery, Liaoning Energy, Antai Group, and Shaanxi Heimao followed higher. On September 24, the benchmark price for thermal coal on SunSirs was 989.50 yuan per ton, up 13.02% from 875.50 yuan per ton at the beginning of the month. The robotics concept saw localized movement, with Xiangyang Automobile Bearing hitting the limit-up, and Ningbo Dongli, Wanxiang Qianchao, Nanfang Precision, Sanhua Intelligent Controls, and Tuopu Group following higher. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview on September 23 that he predicts there will be at least 1 billion humanoid robots within 10 years or less, perhaps 10 billion in the next 15 years, and possibly 100 billion in the next 20 years. The real estate sector fell sharply, with Huali Family hitting the limit-down, Huayuan Holdings touching the limit-down, and Greenland Holdings, Heungkong Holdings, China Vanke, and Risesun Development quickly following lower.

Xinhua Media opened limit-up again on the morning of September 24, notching a fourth consecutive daily limit. The share price stood at 7.77 yuan per share, with total market capitalisation exceeding 8 billion yuan. As of 10:07 a.m., nearly 5 million lots were sealed at the limit-up price, marking the fourth straight trading day with over 1 million lots sealed. The company previously announced plans to acquire a 100% stake in Shanghai Jiemian Cailianshe Technology Co., Ltd. through a share issuance. On the evening of September 23, the company issued an announcement on abnormal stock trading volatility, stating that the audit and appraisal work related to the transaction has not yet been completed, and that necessary internal decision-making procedures still need to be fulfilled. The deal can only be formally implemented after approval by the competent regulatory authorities, and there is uncertainty over whether and when such approval will be obtained. The announcement showed that the company's production and operations are currently normal, with no major changes in its internal or external operating environment and no change in its main business. Xinhua Media's 2025 annual report, disclosed on March 31, 2026, showed that net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company, excluding non-recurring gains and losses, was negative 16.2975 million yuan. According to the previously disclosed major asset restructuring plan, unaudited key summary financial data for Jiemian Cailianshe showed that net cash flows from operating activities were 122 million yuan in 2024 and 222 million yuan in 2025, with net profit attributable to the parent company of approximately 108 million yuan in 2025.

Xinhua Media opened limit-up again on September 24, recording its fourth consecutive daily limit-up. As of midday, the stock traded at 7.77 yuan per share, with a total market value of 8.119 billion yuan, and more than 4 million lots locked on the limit-up board. The stock has seen over 1 million lots of locked orders for four consecutive trading days. On the news front, the company announced on the evening of September 23 that it plans to acquire a 100% stake in Shanghai Jiemian Cailianshe Technology Co., Ltd. through the issuance of shares. As of the announcement date, the audit and valuation work involved in this transaction has not yet been completed, and it still needs to go through necessary internal decision-making procedures and obtain approval from competent regulatory authorities before formal implementation. There is uncertainty over whether approval will be obtained and the final approval timing. The announcement shows that after self-inspection, the company's production and operations are currently normal, with no major changes in its internal and external operating environment, and its main business remains unchanged. Xinhua Media disclosed its 2025 annual report on March 31, 2026, with net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company after deducting non-recurring gains and losses at negative 16.2975 million yuan. According to the previously disclosed major asset restructuring plan, unaudited key summary financial data of Jiemian Cailianshe shows that net cash flows from operating activities for 2024 and 2025 were 122 million yuan and 222 million yuan respectively, and net profit attributable to the parent company in 2025 was approximately 108 million yuan.

Pearson is exploring building a platform to verify and credential AI agents themselves, certifying that the systems are fit to do real work inside businesses, Chief Technology Officer Dave Treat told Investing.com. Treat said the education group wants to extend its assessment heritage, long built around testing people, to the fast-emerging question of whether an AI agent is ready, safe and fit for purpose before it is let loose on a company's work, adding that Pearson is exploring a verification framework and credentialling platform to do exactly that. The comments follow news last week that the company has acquired ITS, a Baltimore-based assessment technology company, in a move to strengthen its assessment and verification capabilities. Treat also detailed internal AI gains, saying AI authoring, editorial and translation tools had reduced content editing times by at least 40%, lowered translation costs by nearly a third and cut content alignment costs by a quarter, while AI-enabled support had reduced the volume of queries handled by human agents by around 40%. On revenue, he pointed to multi-year agreements with leading technology companies that lock in revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars with existing customers and add incremental, cumulative revenue commitments to Pearson through to 2030, and said Inclusive Access grew 20% in the first half of 2026 and now accounts for 50% of Pearson's U.S. core courseware business.

SBI Holdings announced on the 17th that it will make internet-related company Livedoor a wholly owned subsidiary. It will acquire all of Livedoor's shares from parent company Minkabu The Infonoid for about 7.5 billion yen. SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao and Takafumi Horie, who led Livedoor, once clashed in the battle for control of Nippon Broadcasting System shares, so the two have now come together as a group, transcending their past feud. SBI will strengthen its media business by leveraging Livedoor's assets, including its news sites in Japan and overseas. Minkabu will form a capital alliance with NTT Data, and the three companies including SBI will consider new services in the financial sector, aiming to become a financial information platformer originating in Japan.

Minkabu The Infonoid announced on the 17th that it will form a capital and business alliance with NTT Data and sign a three-party business partnership agreement with NTT Data and SBI Holdings. Minkabu shareholders will sell their shares to NTT Data, giving NTT Data more than 16% of Minkabu's voting rights. Meanwhile, Minkabu will sell all shares in its consolidated subsidiary Livedoor to SBI Holdings, using the gain to fully repay the group's borrowings, and will record about 3 billion yen as an extraordinary profit in its consolidated results for the fiscal year ending March 2027. SBI will become Minkabu's second-largest shareholder after NTT Data, holding just over 8% of its voting rights. Through the alliance, the three companies aim to combine the customer bases and financial business expertise of NTT Data and the SBI Group with Minkabu's financial data content and its touchpoints with individual investors to create and roll out new financial services.

ST Huawen announced on the evening of September 17 that its controlling subsidiary, Hainan Ankechong Charging Technology Co., Ltd., plans to acquire, for 10.7193 million yuan in cash, a group of 23 new energy vehicle charging station assets held by Hainan Xiaoji Technology Co., Ltd. The assets are located in Haikou and Sanya, and include tangible assets such as charging equipment and power distribution facilities, as well as intangible asset rights including site lease usage rights and station operation rights. According to an appraisal report issued by Beijing Yachao Asset Appraisal Co., Ltd., using the income approach with a valuation base date of March 31, 2026, the total investment in the target assets was 15.3583 million yuan, and the appraised value was 10.7193 million yuan, with the transaction price consistent with the appraised value. This transaction amount accounts for 0.48% of the company's audited total assets of 2.253 billion yuan for 2025, and 18.30% of the net assets attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 58.5747 million yuan. It does not constitute a major asset restructuring or a related-party transaction, and has been approved by the company's management, without the need for review by the board of directors or shareholders' meeting. The company stated that, affected by changes in the external industry environment, its traditional media business is under growth pressure, and its cultural tourism segment faces challenges such as adjustments in consumption structure. After this acquisition, it will rapidly expand the operating scale of its new energy charging business and promote the new energy operation segment to become a source of business revenue. Just over two months ago, the company completed the execution of its restructuring plan and, on July 31, removed its delisting risk warning, with its stock abbreviation changed from *ST Huawen to ST Huawen.

John Wiley & Sons reported fiscal first-quarter revenue fell 3% to $386 million and adjusted earnings per share dropped 10% to $0.44 from $0.49, a decline the company attributed largely to a known comparison problem. The research business brought in $293 million, up 4%, with research publishing climbing 12% to $259 million, while the AI business generated $14 million in the quarter, of which $10.5 million came from model training and $3.5 million was recurring, with another $14 million already contracted for delivery across the next two quarters. The learning segment was the clear soft spot, with revenue down 20% to $93 million as academic revenue fell 20% to $45 million and professional revenue fell the same amount to $48 million, partly reflecting the loss of a $29 million non-recurring AI licensing benefit from last year's quarter. The Emerald Publishing acquisition added $13 million in revenue and $5 million in adjusted EBITDA but pushed net debt to $1.2 billion and net debt to EBITDA to 2.7 times from 1.9 times a year earlier, while free cash flow remained negative at a $70 million use of cash. Wiley reaffirmed its full-year guidance, including adjusted EPS of $4.60 to $5.05, up from $4.19, and organic revenue growth in the low to mid single digits.

Pearson and Illinois Institute of Technology have announced a partnership to explore employability pathways, industry-aligned credentials, and AI-enabled workforce solutions. The collaboration combines Pearson's global expertise in learning and assessment with Illinois Tech's strengths in technology education and career-focused programs. Key areas of focus include curriculum development, healthcare education, and dual enrollment opportunities for high school students. The organizations will also evaluate workforce credentialing and lifelong learning programs, aiming to connect learners with in-demand skills and career success.

Xinhua Media announced that the company plans to acquire a controlling stake in Shanghai Jiemian Cailianshe Technology Co., Ltd. through a share issuance, which is expected to constitute a major asset restructuring but not a backdoor listing. The transaction constitutes a related-party transaction, with the counterparties preliminarily identified as entities including Shanghai United Media Group Culture New Media Investment Management Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the controlling shareholder Shanghai United Media Group. Trading in the company's shares has been suspended since September 7, with the suspension expected to last no more than 10 trading days. The transaction is still in the planning stage, and the valuation and pricing of the underlying assets have not yet been determined.

Xinhua Media, stock code 600825, is planning to issue shares to purchase a controlling stake in Shanghai Jiemian Cailianshe Technology Company Limited, a deal expected to constitute a major asset restructuring. Trading in the company's shares has been suspended since the market opened on September 7 and will remain suspended from the market open on September 8, 2026, with the cumulative suspension expected not to exceed 10 trading days. The transaction is still in the planning stage, and the valuation and pricing of the target assets have not yet been determined. It does not constitute a restructuring and listing, but it does constitute a related-party transaction. Xinhua Media has signed a letter of intent for asset purchase with Shanghai United Media Group Culture New Media Investment Management Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of its controlling shareholder Shanghai United Media Group. The final price will be based on an appraisal report. Jiemian Cailianshe is a financial news agency supervised and sponsored by Shanghai United Media Group, serving more than 150 financial institutions, over 5,000 listed companies, 200 million stock investors, and 700 million fund investors. In the first half of 2026, Xinhua Media achieved operating revenue of 631 million yuan and net profit attributable to the parent company of 32.76 million yuan.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in The New York Times Company for the second consecutive quarter, growing its share count by more than 3.5% in the second quarter of 2026. According to the latest 13F filing, Berkshire held 15.7 million shares as of June 29, 2026, worth about $1.1 billion, up 553,465 shares from the prior quarter, a 3.65% increase. This position now equals 9.78% of the company's outstanding shares, though it represents just 0.32% of Berkshire's overall portfolio. The buying spree follows strong quarterly results for the publisher, including a 16.4% rise in digital subscription revenue to $408 million and a 20.7% jump in digital advertising revenue to $114 million. Management projects digital subscription revenue growth of 12% to 15% for the full year, with analysts forecasting revenue to expand from $2.82 billion in 2025 to $3.52 billion in 2028.

gumi rose for the first time in three days. The previous day, September 3, SBI Holdings announced that it would acquire additional shares of Brangista through its subsidiary SBINM to strengthen business consolidation, and expectations are growing that this could also be a tailwind for gumi, which is also advancing business collaboration with the SBI Group. Meanwhile, Brangista saw a rush of buying from the morning and was indicated at its limit-up price.

John Wiley & Sons reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 results, with AI revenue surging 40% to $14 million, ahead of the pace needed for its full-year target of over $50 million. Research segment revenue rose 4% to $293 million, while Learning segment revenue fell 20% to $93 million, partly due to prior-year AI licensing comparisons. Adjusted EBITDA declined 4% year-over-year, with Research adjusted EBITDA up 9% to $87 million and margin expanding 130 basis points to 29.6%. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, expecting momentum to build through the year, and highlighted strategic partnerships with the US Department of Energy's Genesis Mission and CuspAI.

The Trump administration on the 2nd filed a brief in a New York City federal court supporting OpenAI in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by The New York Times (NYT) and others. The administration argued that AI training constitutes fair use of copyrighted material and that restricting the training of large language models would harm scientific progress and national security. In response, an NYT spokesperson criticized the administration for "siding with a handful of AI companies valued at around $1 trillion at the expense of countless American creators whose works have been stolen," and argued that AI companies should comply with copyright law and pay fair compensation. An OpenAI spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit was initially filed by NYT in 2023, alleging that OpenAI and Microsoft used millions of NYT articles without permission to train the large language models underlying ChatGPT.

The Trump administration has filed a brief in Manhattan federal court supporting OpenAI in its copyright dispute with The New York Times, arguing that training AI models on copyrighted material can generally qualify as fair use. The filing, reported by Reuters, marks the government's first known position in the legal battle over AI training data. While not binding, the support could bolster OpenAI and other tech firms facing lawsuits from publishers and creators. The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023, alleging unauthorized use of millions of articles to train ChatGPT. Courts have split on whether AI training is transformative enough for fair-use protection, and the administration has also urged other countries to adopt similar fair-use standards.

North Media has completed the acquisition of the BEAM software platform, a digital tool for electricity grid balancing, as announced in Company Announcement no. 14/2026. The platform will enable households, housing associations, and businesses with solar panels, heat pumps, hot-water storage tanks, or batteries to make these assets available to Energinet, helping maintain grid balance and allowing owners to reduce electricity bills and generate income. North Media aims to develop BEAM into the market-leading solution, contributing to renewable energy demand and grid flexibility. The impact on earnings is recognized under unallocated Group income/costs, with an expected loss of DKK 5 million in 2026.