TDAY vs WLY vs ZD Stock Comparison

Usa Today, John Wiley & Sons and Ziff Davis Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TDAY USA TODAY Co., Inc.
$6.38 +0.3% 1M +56.8% 1Y
Market cap
$919.31M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.23B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
1 win
WLY John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
$50.58 +6.2% 1M +34.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.58B
P/E
13.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.67B
Div. yield
0.03%
Publishing Communication Services
4 wins
ZD Ziff Davis, Inc.
$55.37 -0.6% 1M +62.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.04B
P/E
3.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.32B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ziff Davis leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ziff Davis 6, John Wiley & Sons 4, Usa Today 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTDAYWLYZDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $919.31M $2.58B $2.04B WLY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -22.8x 13.0x 3.2x ZD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.8x 10.2x 10.2x ZD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.7% -0.3% -0.7% WLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -1.8% 11.9% 48.6% ZD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% 13.7% 2.6% WLY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 3.1x -2.6x ZD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +56.8% +34.1% +62.8% ZD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.9%/yr -1.4%/yr -15.5%/yr TDAY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 48.3% 37.0% 55.7% WLY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 74/100 88/100 ZD

Percentile Scorecard

TDAYWLYZD

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisTDAYWLYZD
Valuation 83 #10 of 53 73 #15 of 53 98 #2 of 53
Growth 37 #28 of 44 98 #2 of 44 86 #7 of 44
Profitability 59 #18 of 42 93 #4 of 42 68 #14 of 42
Financial Health 38 #38 of 61 57 #27 of 61 88 #8 of 61
Shareholder Returns 8 #24 of 26 48 #14 of 26 100 #1 of 26
Overall 45 74 88
  • TDAY ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • WLY ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • ZD ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodTDAYWLYZDSPY
1 month +0.3%+6.2%-0.6% +0.9%
3 months -27.6%-9.3%+2.0% +5.9%
6 months -12.4%+24.5%+18.4% +8.5%
Year to date +23.9%+65.1%+57.5% +13.3%
1 year +56.8%+34.1%+62.8% +12.4%
3 years +183.6%+68.1%-5.0% +88.1%
3 years, per year +41.6%+18.9%-1.7% +23.5%
5 years +10.0%-6.6%-56.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year +1.9%-1.4%-15.5% +11.0%
10 years -55.3%-0.1%-10.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year -7.7%0.0%-1.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureTDAYWLYZDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 48.3%37.0%55.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.4%35.3%40.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.370.130.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.180.921.13 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -79.5%-50.0%-80.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.5%-9.3%-6.4% -0.9%
52-week high $9.05$55.74$59.13 $779.14
52-week low $4.07$28.79$26.51 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleTDAYWLYZD
P/E now vs peer median -23.2xmedian 18.7x 13.0xmedian 18.7x 3.1xmedian 18.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 0.6x 1.5xmedian 0.6x 1.5xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 10.6x 9.9xmedian 10.6x 4.2xmedian 10.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 8.9x 10.7xmedian 8.9x 6.1xmedian 8.9x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 1.6x 3.2xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 3.30median 0.49 0.16median 0.49 0.03median 0.49

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsTDAYWLYZD
Revenue $2.23B $1.67B $1.32B
Gross profit $880.46M $1.24B $1.12B
Operating income $252.85M $248.83M $72.68M
Net income -$40.28M $198.19M $643.49M
Free cash flow $61.59M $239.89M $316.73M
R&D – – $57.65M
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $3.91 $17.69
Cash & equivalents $86.66M $106.43M $1.61B
Total debt $710.15M $1.29B $867.64M
Shares (diluted) 193.95M 50.75M 36.38M
Enterprise value $582.02M $2.24B -$1.17B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricTDAYWLYZD
P/E -23.2x 13.0x 3.1x
P/FCF 15.2x 10.7x 6.1x
P/Operating cash flow 8.3x 8.8x 4.3x
P/S 0.4x 1.5x 1.5x
P/B 6.1x 3.2x 0.9x
P/Tangible book -6.1x -45.6x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 3.9x 9.9x 4.2x
EV/EBIT 6.2x 15.1x 16.5x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 2.3x 0.9x
EV/FCF 25.3x 15.6x 3.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.8x 12.9x 2.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.30 0.16 0.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTDAYWLYZD
Revenue growth (1Y) -6.7% -0.3% -0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -7.2% – -1.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -4.5% 0.3% -2.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.8% – -1.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 329.6% 11.4% -6.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 122.1% – -27.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -134.8% 103.7% 873.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.2% 76.1% 89.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -135.1% 116.6% 1,055%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -7.0% 79.4% 106.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% 40.7% 31.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 0.6% 14.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 42.6% 62.8% 35.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 6.0% 18.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTDAYWLYZD
Gross margin 39.5% 74.6% 84.9%
EBITDA margin 17.7% 22.6% 21.5%
Operating margin 11.3% 14.9% 5.5%
Pretax margin 3.0% 11.1% -1.9%
Net margin -1.8% 11.9% 48.6%
FCF margin 2.8% 14.4% 23.9%
Operating cash flow margin 5.1% 17.4% 33.8%
Return on equity -27.3% 24.1% 33.5%
Return on assets -2.2% 6.9% 17.9%
Return on invested capital 0.0% 13.7% 2.6%
Return on capital employed 19.5% 11.4% 2.7%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.8x 1.5x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 1.2% 3.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTDAYWLYZD
Debt / assets 39.7% 41.2% 21.7%
Debt / equity 4.6x 1.6x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 3.1x -2.6x
Debt / FCF 11.5x 5.4x 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 91.4% 74.6% 44.0%
Equity / assets 8.6% 25.4% 56.0%
Interest coverage 2.8x 5.3x –
Current ratio 0.8x 0.6x 2.2x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.5x 2.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 1.7x
Altman Z-score 1.19 2.12 2.04

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTDAYWLYZD
Dividend yield – 2.8% –
Net buyback yield 0.3% 4.0% 14.2%
Shareholder yield 0.3% 6.8% 14.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 37.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 30.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -3.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -1.6% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusTDAYWLYZD
Forward P/E 22.8xFY2026 10.2xFY2026 10.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.28FY2026 $4.95FY2026 $5.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +366.7%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026 -17.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.6% +4.4% +4.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.07BFY2026 $1.63BFY2026 $1.15BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -9.9%FY2026 -2.8%FY2026 -20.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% +13.6% +0.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTDAYWLYZD
Held by institutions 95.2% 99.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 222 264 267
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.2% -0.6% -2.6%
Institutions buying 108 142 116
Institutions selling 60 77 106
Buyers to sellers 1.80 1.84 1.09

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

TDAYWLYZD
TDAY 1.00 0.25 0.15
WLY 0.25 1.00 0.23
ZD 0.15 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TDAY, WLY and ZD?

John Wiley & Sons (WLY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Usa Today (TDAY) $919.31M, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) $2.58B, Ziff Davis (ZD) $2.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, TDAY, WLY and ZD?

Ziff Davis (ZD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Usa Today (TDAY) -22.8x, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 13.0x, Ziff Davis (ZD) 3.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ziff Davis (ZD) is cheapest (Usa Today (TDAY) 22.8x, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 10.2x, Ziff Davis (ZD) 10.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

John Wiley & Sons (WLY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Usa Today (TDAY) -6.7%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) -0.3%, Ziff Davis (ZD) -0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ziff Davis (ZD) has the highest net margin (Usa Today (TDAY) -1.8%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 11.9%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 48.6%). On return on invested capital, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) leads (Usa Today (TDAY) 0.0%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 13.7%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 2.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ziff Davis (ZD) returned the most: Usa Today (TDAY) +56.8%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) +34.1%, Ziff Davis (ZD) +62.8%. Over five years, Usa Today (TDAY) compounded fastest (Usa Today (TDAY) +1.9%/yr, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) -1.4%/yr, Ziff Davis (ZD) -15.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Usa Today (TDAY) 0.00%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 0.03%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 0.00%. Usa Today (TDAY) and Ziff Davis (ZD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) has been the steadiest (Usa Today (TDAY) 48.3%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 37.0%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 55.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TDAY, WLY and ZD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ziff Davis (ZD) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.