Start here if you're new
what it is
Scholastic sells kids' books, classroom materials, and school-based book fairs around the world.
how it gets paid
Last year Scholastic made $1.6B in revenue. Children’s Book Publishing was the main engine at $0.94B, or 59% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.3% last year. The children’s book publishing and distribution segment, buoyed by robust book fair participation and strong trade sales, remains the principal driver of near-term revenue expansion.
what just happened
Latest reported quarterly EPS came in at $2.57 versus a $2.05 estimate, a 25.37% beat.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
70.7x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
2.4% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
4.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 53/100 — below average
What they do
Scholastic sells kids' books, classroom materials, and school-based book fairs around the world.
Scholastic sits where kids, parents, and schools already buy books. Its Children’s Book Publishing unit is 59% of sales, or about $944 million on $1.6 billion of annual revenue. Scale → bigger distribution reach → so what: when your school runs a book fair, Scholastic is already in the building.
How they make money
$1.6B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.3% last year
Children’s Book Publishing
$0.94B
+2.3%
Education Solutions
$0.30B
flat to down
International
$0.27B
+2.3%
Entertainment
$0.08B
+2.3%
The products that matter
school-based book selling
Book Fairs
latest quarter revenue: $551.1M company-wide
book fairs were one of the businesses management cited as stronger in the latest quarter. the filing excerpt here does not split the segment, so you should treat it as an important driver, not a clean standalone number.
school access
children's publishing and trade sales
Publishing & Trade
$1.6B annual revenue base
trade sales were also called out as stronger. that matters because a $1.6B business with a 2.1% net margin needs its healthier channels pulling their weight.
core franchise
classroom materials and curriculum
Education Solutions
the weak spot
this segment kept weighing on growth amid uncertain school funding and weaker supplemental curriculum sales. when profitability is only 2.1%, you do not need a huge drag for earnings to feel it.
watch closely
Key numbers
$2.0B
fy2026 sales est
Expected sales are about $400 million above the latest annual $1.6 billion. Sales growth → more money coming in → so what: the stock needs that rebound to justify 70.7 times trailing earnings.
70.7x
trailing p/e
P/E → price compared with last 12 months of profit → so what: you are paying a growth stock multiple for a business with 2.5% past sales growth.
9.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: this is decent for publishing, but it still shrinks to a 2.9% net margin after everything else.
2.4%
dividend yield
Yield → cash paid to shareholders each year → so what: you are getting paid a little while waiting for earnings to recover.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $275M (25% of capital)
- net profit margin 2.9% — keeps 3 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 4% — $0.04 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in SCHL 3 years ago → it's now worth $8,840.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Latest reported quarterly EPS came in at $2.57 versus a $2.05 estimate, a 25.37% beat.
Quarterly revenue reached $777 million, up 41% vs. prior year, while company commentary said operating income rose 11%. The quiet part is louder: one strong quarter looks great, but FY2025 EPS still ended at just $0.48.
$777M
revenue
$2.57
eps
n/a
n/a
the number that mattered
The 25.37% EPS beat matters because it shows the core book business can still throw off profit when demand lines up.
-
although revenues of $551.1 million increased only marginally from last year (+1%), operating income expanded 11% and adjusted ebitda improved roughly 13%, driven by higher book fairs and trade revenues and tighter overhead cost controls.
-
for the bottom-line, scholastic posted earnings that grew 41%, to $2.57 per share.management noted that its sequential improvement has bosltered confidence in its restructuring and cost-management plans going into the second half of the fiscal year. as a reminder, scholastic is also looking at options to leverage its real estate assets in order to support capital allocation priorities, including debt reduction and share repurchases.
-
persistent softness in the education solutions segment continues to weigh on overall growth.
-
even as core publishing units have performed better, education solutions has struggled amid uncertain government school funding and lower supplemental curriculum sales.
-
the company’s growth strategy hinges on its core franchise strength.the children’s book publishing and distribution segment, buoyed by robust book fair participation and strong trade sales, remains the principal driver of near-term revenue expansion. additionally, investments in digital content delivery, such as the launch of scholastic tv streaming service, is designed to broaden revenue sources beyond print and traditional educational materials distribution. by enhancing cross-platform engagement with children and educators, scholastic aims to build longer-term content monetization channels that complement its cyclical publishing businesses.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk is continued weakness in education solutions and school spending.
med
education solutions stays soft
management already tied weak results here to uncertain school funding and lower supplemental curriculum demand.
if that part of the business does not recover, the rest of a $1.6B company keeps doing the carrying.
high
thin margins leave little room for error
a 2.1% net margin and 4% return on equity do not give you much cushion if printing, freight, wages, or promotions move the wrong way.
small cost pressure can eat a large share of earnings when the business only keeps about 2 cents of each revenue dollar.
low
debt and dividend pull in opposite directions
the balance sheet is fine, but not carefree: $275M of long-term debt sits beside a 2.4% dividend yield.
if earnings stay near $0.48 instead of recovering toward $1.40, capital return looks less comfortable.
a business earning 2.1% on $1.6B of revenue does not get many mistakes before earnings feel it.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
full-year EPS recovery
the stock is modeled at $1.40 of fy2026 EPS after posting only $0.48 for full-year 2025. that gap is the turnaround case.
risk
education solutions demand
management already blamed uncertain school funding and weaker supplemental curriculum sales. if that does not improve, growth stays lopsided.
earnings
whether quarterly improvement holds
latest quarterly revenue was $551.1M and quarterly EPS was $2.17. you want to see the better quarter turn into a better year.
trend
institutional accumulation
89 buyers versus 78 sellers in 3q2025 says larger holders have leaned in. if that flips while earnings stay weak, pay attention.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong short-term edge either way.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — this is not a panic stock, but it is not a bunker either.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is not screaming conviction. it is waiting for the earnings story to clear up.
earnings predictability
25 / 100
earnings predictability is low. translation: the next few reports matter more than usual because the baseline is shaky.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 89 buyers vs. 78 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 20.8M shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$27
$80
$34
current price
$54
target midpoint · +59% from current · 3-5yr high: $55 (+60% · 15% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive