VALU vs ZD vs WLY Stock Comparison

Value Line, Ziff Davis and John Wiley & Sons Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
VALU Value Line Inc
$42.50 +5.8% 1M +11.4% 1Y
Market cap
$398.74M
P/E
20.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$32.89M
Div. yield
3.24%
Publishing Communication Services
4 wins
ZD Ziff Davis, Inc.
$57.03 +0.9% 1M +56.8% 1Y
Market cap
$1.99B
P/E
3.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.32B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
5 wins
WLY John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
$52.65 +10.7% 1M +42.6% 1Y
Market cap
$2.67B
P/E
13.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.67B
Div. yield
2.71%
Publishing Communication Services
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Ziff Davis leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ziff Davis 5, Value Line 4, John Wiley & Sons 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionVALUZDWLYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $398.74M $1.99B $2.67B WLY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.1x 3.2x 13.5x ZD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 10.5x 10.6x ZD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -5.5% -0.7% -0.3% WLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 60.3% 48.6% 11.9% VALU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 2.6% 13.7% WLY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -2.6x 3.1x ZD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.24% 0.00% 2.71% VALU
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.4% +56.8% +42.6% ZD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.8%/yr -15.0%/yr -0.7%/yr VALU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.0% 56.0% 36.8% VALU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 88/100 74/100 ZD

Percentile Scorecard

VALUZDWLY

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

AxisVALUZDWLY
Valuation 29 #38 of 53 94 #4 of 53 71 #16 of 53
Growth 26 #33 of 44 91 #5 of 44 95 #3 of 44
Profitability 76 #11 of 42 68 #14 of 42 93 #4 of 42
Financial Health 93 #5 of 61 88 #8 of 61 57 #27 of 61
Shareholder Returns 20 #21 of 26 100 #1 of 26 52 #13 of 26
Overall 49 88 74
  • VALU ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • ZD ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • WLY 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

PeriodVALUZDWLYSPY
1 month +5.8%+0.9%+10.7% -0.2%
3 months +13.2%+7.7%-3.0% +3.9%
6 months +20.6%+20.8%+28.4% +8.2%
Year to date +10.6%+62.2%+71.9% +12.9%
1 year +11.4%+56.8%+42.6% +12.3%
3 years +10.4%-2.2%+75.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +3.4%-0.7%+20.5% +23.3%
5 years +32.2%-55.7%-3.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +5.8%-15.0%-0.7% +10.9%
10 years +134.0%-6.2%+4.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.9%-0.6%+0.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureVALUZDWLYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.0%56.0%36.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.3%41.5%35.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.090.620.14 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.331.011.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.3%-80.1%-50.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.4%-3.6%-5.5% -1.2%
52-week high $44.44$59.13$55.74 $779.14
52-week low $32.00$26.51$28.79 $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.

MultipleVALUZDWLY
P/E now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 18.4x 3.2xmedian 18.4x 13.5xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 0.6x 1.5xmedian 0.6x 1.6xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 71.4xmedian 10.5x 4.4xmedian 10.5x 10.2xmedian 10.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.5xmedian 9.0x 6.3xmedian 9.0x 11.1xmedian 9.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 1.5x 0.9xmedian 1.5x 3.4xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.44 0.03median 0.44 0.17median 0.44

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 monthsVALUZDWLY
Revenue $32.89M $1.32B $1.67B
Gross profit – $1.12B $1.24B
Operating income $3.56M $72.68M $248.83M
Net income $19.83M $643.49M $198.19M
Free cash flow $17.73M $316.73M $239.89M
R&D – $57.65M –
EPS (diluted) – $17.69 $3.91
Cash & equivalents $16.02M $1.61B $106.43M
Total debt – $867.64M $1.29B
Shares (diluted) – 36.38M 50.75M
Enterprise value $146.05M -$1.21B $2.33B

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
MetricVALUZDWLY
P/E 20.1x 3.2x 13.5x
P/FCF 22.5x 6.3x 11.1x
P/Operating cash flow 22.5x 4.4x 9.2x
P/S 12.1x 1.5x 1.6x
P/B 3.7x 0.9x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 1.0x -47.5x
EV/EBITDA 71.4x 4.4x 10.2x
EV/EBIT 97.1x 17.3x 15.5x
EV/Revenue 10.5x 0.9x 2.3x
EV/FCF 19.5x 4.0x 16.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.5x 2.8x 13.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.03 0.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVALUZDWLY
Revenue growth (1Y) -5.5% -0.7% -0.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.9% -1.2% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -2.1% 0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -1.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -36.8% -6.2% 11.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -32.7% -27.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) -6.7% 873.6% 103.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 89.4% 76.1%
EPS growth (1Y) – 1,055% 116.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 106.0% 79.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -15.7% 31.1% 40.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 14.5% 0.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -15.0% 35.9% 62.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 18.3% 6.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVALUZDWLY
Gross margin – 84.9% 74.6%
EBITDA margin 14.7% 21.5% 22.6%
Operating margin 10.8% 5.5% 14.9%
Pretax margin 40.5% -1.9% 11.1%
Net margin 60.3% 48.6% 11.9%
FCF margin 53.9% 23.9% 14.4%
Operating cash flow margin 53.9% 33.8% 17.4%
Return on equity 5.5% 33.5% 24.1%
Return on assets 3.9% 17.9% 6.9%
Return on invested capital – 2.6% 13.7%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 2.7% 11.4%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 0.7x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 3.6% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVALUZDWLY
Debt / assets – 21.7% 41.2%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – -2.6x 3.1x
Debt / FCF – 2.7x 5.4x
Liabilities / assets 28.5% 44.0% 74.6%
Equity / assets 71.5% 56.0% 25.4%
Interest coverage – – 5.3x
Current ratio 4.1x 2.2x 0.6x
Quick ratio 2.4x 2.1x 0.5x
Cash ratio 2.4x 1.7x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 7.47 2.06 2.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVALUZDWLY
Dividend yield 3.2% – 2.7%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 13.8% 3.8%
Shareholder yield 3.5% 13.8% 6.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 62.8% – 37.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 70.2% – 30.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.9% – -3.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.6% – -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.

ConsensusVALUZDWLY
Forward P/E – 10.5xFY2026 10.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $5.44FY2026 $4.95FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -17.9%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +4.0% +4.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $1.15BFY2026 $1.63BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – -20.6%FY2026 -2.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +0.6% +13.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVALUZDWLY
Held by institutions 5.6% 100.0% 99.1%
Institutions holding 53 267 264
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -2.6% -0.6%
Institutions buying 16 116 142
Institutions selling 18 106 77
Buyers to sellers 0.89 1.09 1.84

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.

VALUZDWLY
VALU 1.00 0.01 0.08
ZD 0.01 1.00 0.22
WLY 0.08 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VALU, ZD and WLY?

John Wiley & Sons (WLY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Value Line (VALU) $398.74M, Ziff Davis (ZD) $1.99B, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) $2.67B.

Which stock is cheaper, VALU, ZD and WLY?

Ziff Davis (ZD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Value Line (VALU) 20.1x, Ziff Davis (ZD) 3.2x, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 13.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ziff Davis (ZD) is cheapest (Ziff Davis (ZD) 10.5x, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 10.6x). 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: Value Line (VALU) -5.5%, Ziff Davis (ZD) -0.7%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) -0.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Value Line (VALU) has the highest net margin (Value Line (VALU) 60.3%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 48.6%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 11.9%). On return on invested capital, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) leads (Ziff Davis (ZD) 2.6%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 13.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ziff Davis (ZD) returned the most: Value Line (VALU) +11.4%, Ziff Davis (ZD) +56.8%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) +42.6%. Over five years, Value Line (VALU) compounded fastest (Value Line (VALU) +5.8%/yr, Ziff Davis (ZD) -15.0%/yr, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) -0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Value Line (VALU) has the highest dividend yield: Value Line (VALU) 3.24%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 0.00%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 2.71%. Ziff Davis (ZD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Value Line (VALU) has been the steadiest (Value Line (VALU) 35.0%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 56.0%, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) 36.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 5. 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.