Scholastic Q3 revenue falls 2%, launches $300 mln buyback

Scholastic

19/03/2026 20:12

Corrects to remove word 'adjusted' from second Overview bullet

Overview

US children's publishing and media firm's fiscal Q3 revenue fell 2% yr/yr

EPS for fiscal Q3 improved yr/yr

Company announced $300 mln share repurchase program including planned $200 mln Dutch auction tender offer

Outlook

Scholastic sees fiscal 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $146 mln to $156 mln

Company expects fiscal 2026 free cash flow to exceed $430 mln

Scholastic expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be approximately flat with prior year

Result Drivers

PUBLISHING CALENDAR - Co said lower Q3 revenue in Children's Book Publishing and Distribution and International segments was due to timing of publishing releases compared to prior year

BOOK FAIRS - Co said Book Fairs revenue grew 2% yr/yr, driven by higher revenue per fair

EDUCATION FUNDING - Co said Education segment revenue declined due to continued challenging funding environment for schools and districts

Company press release: ID:nPn7CpnNla

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q3 Revenue
Slight Miss*
$329.10 mln
$331.03 mln (2 Analysts)
Q3 Adjusted EPS
Beat
-$0.15
-$0.37 (2 Analysts)
Q3 EPS
$2.55
Q3 Adjusted EBITDA
Miss
$0
$3.57 mln (2 Analysts)
Q3 Adjusted Operating Income
Miss
-$24.30 mln
-$19.90 mln (1 Analyst)
Q3 Operating Income
-$26.90 mln
Q3 Pretax Profit
$91.80 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The one available analyst rating on the shares is "hold"

The average consensus recommendation for the consumer publishing peer group is "buy."

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Scholastic Corp is $36.00, about 7.8% above its March 18 closing price of $33.39

The stock recently traded at 17 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 20 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)