Finance

Educational Development Corp., whose business soared during the pandemic, continues to struggle to find a firm financial footing in the new normal.

After falling 12% in the six-month period ended December 31, 2022, sales steadied at $515 million at HarperCollins in the quarter ended March 31, 2023, though earnings fell again, dropping 9%.

Gains in religious and higher educational publishing offset dips in the trade segments in February, resulting in a 0.2% sales gain for the 1,240 publishers that report sales to AAP's StatShot program.

Sales rose 19% and earnings were up 16% at Simon & Schuster in the first quarter, and executives at parent company Paramount Global said there is a possibility the sale of the publisher could be completed this year.

The stock price of Chegg, the online learning platform for university students, fell 48% Tuesday, after its CEO reported that a spike in interest by students in ChatGPT resulted in lower than expected results in the first quarter.

Amazon's cost-cutting efforts led to higher earnings in the first quarter, but its online revenue was flat compared to the first quarter of 2022.

HBG CEO Michael Pietsch attributed the 11% decline to a strong first quarter in 2022, plus “a generally softer market, especially for hardcovers.”

For the second month in a row, bookstore sales posted large gains over 2022. According to preliminary figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, February bookstore sales increased 10.7% over last year, rising to $609 million.

Higher costs and lower sales led to disappointing results at three of the four largest trade publishers last year, reviving an old publishing mantra.

Despite a decline in sales, cost controls and a rebound in its custom publishing operation led to a 67% jump in profits for Quarto Group in 2022.