Charles Wiley started his printing business in 1807. But he had an eye for talent and helped launch the career of novelist James Fenimore Cooper. Other great authors followed, such as Washington Irving, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe.
The business is now John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:JWA). But it is not a stodgy company; if anything, it acts like an upstart.
The company has a stable of top publishing brands, such as Jossey-Bass, For Dummies, Betty Crocker, CliffsNotes, Frommer's, and even Webster's New World. It also has a variety of Web properties.
This has been the result of an acquisition spree. But John Wiley also has formed key alliances, such as with Dow Jones (NYSE:DJ), CNBC, and the Culinary Institute of America.
Yesterday, Wiley announced its second-quarter results. Revenues increased 8% to $247.1 million from the same period a year ago. Earnings per diluted share inched up $0.01 to $0.42.
The company has also been continuing its innovative ways. There was the launch of an online course for the CPA exam, a brand licensing deal with American Media Inc. to publish micro magazines for the Dummies brand, a redesign of CliffsNotes.com, and the launch of eGrade Plus, which provides textbooks online.
Moreover, Wiley struck a deal with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to enhance the search features of the online InterScience property. Success has also come from a deal with Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) to better market to students.
For a company the size of Wiley, such initiatives will take time to move the needle. But management certainly thinks there will be a payoff, and, as a show of confidence, bought 959,200 Class A common shares the first six months of this year.
Fool contributor Tom Taulli does not own shares mentioned in this article.
