HarperCollins Publishers LLC
Big Five book publisher owned by News Corp, home to global bestselling authors.
On the record
Checkpoint: OpenAI copyright MDL summary judgment ruling or trial in SDNY, which will set the licensing precedent for future AI book deals
The call
HarperCollins keeps growing profit and bestseller counts while turning AI's appetite for text into licensing revenue instead of free training material.
HarperCollins publishes and sells books, including famous authors it has exclusive contracts with, plus a huge collection of older books that still make money. Amazon and AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic want to use books to train their systems without paying, but copyright law (and a recent settlement) requires them to pay HarperCollins for that right, which is hard for anyone else to get around because the law is written into the system itself. The biggest thing to watch is whether courts rule that AI companies had the right to use unlicensed books, which could either force HarperCollins to share more content for free or confirm that licensing deals like theirs with Microsoft are the only legal way forward.
Why
01
AI pressure: Cheap AI-generated ebooks and self-publishing tools on Amazon KDP. AI-written books flood the self-publishing channel, competing for reader time even as branded frontlist sales keep growing. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Amazon, through Kindle Direct Publishing, Audible, and retail distribution. Amazon controls most retail and audio distribution and undercuts on price, but has not pulled a marquee author away from contract. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Exclusive author contracts and copyright mean AI labs must license text, not scrape it, as the Anthropic settlement shows.
What would change this call
OpenAI copyright MDL (SDNY) reaches summary judgment or trial verdict. Would confirm or undercut whether AI labs must license books like HarperCollins', validating its moat.
News Corp FY2026 full-year results (expected August 2026) show HarperCollins segment profit trend. Would show whether profit growth continued or the FY26 H1 EBITDA decline persisted.
Amazon Publishing signs a top-tier bestselling author away from a Big Five publisher. Would show Amazon breaking the retail-channel barrier that has limited its trade publishing reach.
News Corp FY2026 full-year results (expected August 2026) show HarperCollins segment profit trend. Would show whether profit growth continued or the FY26 H1 EBITDA decline persisted.
Amazon Publishing signs a top-tier bestselling author away from a Big Five publisher. Would show Amazon breaking the retail-channel barrier that has limited its trade publishing reach.
Key numbers
- $296M segment profit, up 10% year over year
- $1.68B first-half FY26 sales, up 2%
- 164 titles on New York Times bestseller lists
Named risks
- AI copyright litigation outcomes (OpenAI MDL, Google Gemini suit) could weaken licensing leverage if rulings favor fair use.
- Margin pressure from one-time costs, e.g. $16M inventory write-off hit H1 FY2026 EBITDA down 14%.
- Union contract through 2028 locks in rising labor costs (starting salary to $55,200 by 2028).
- Author Guild disputes over AI deal revenue split (50/50) could strain author relationships.
- Amazon's distribution and AI self-publishing tools could erode commodity-end trade book sales.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon (Publishing/KDP/Audible) | contesting | Amazon Publishing and KDP self-publishing pressure the low end, but has not broken Big Five's top-author dominance as of 2026 |
| Penguin Random House | contesting | Largest Big Five rival; regulators treated both as dominant tier in blocked 2022 PRH-Simon & Schuster merger case |
| Simon & Schuster (KKR-owned) | contesting | Sold to KKR for $1.62B in August 2023 after PRH deal blocked, remains a Big Five peer |
| OpenAI/Microsoft (AI training) | gaining on | HarperCollins signed licensing deal with Microsoft in November 2024 rather than being trained on without compensation |
| Anthropic | gaining on | $1.5B author settlement approved July 20, 2026 forces AI labs toward licensing, favoring publishers like HarperCollins |
Questions people ask
- Is HarperCollins profitable in 2026?
- Yes. HarperCollins posted FY2025 segment profit of $296M, up 10% year over year, per News Corp's August 2025 results. However, fiscal Q2 2026 (ended Dec 2025) earnings fell 2% to $99M despite 6% sales growth, hurt by a $16M inventory write-off, reported February 2026.
- Could AI replace HarperCollins?
- Unlikely soon. HarperCollins controls exclusive author contracts and backlist IP that AI models can't legally train on without licensing, confirmed by Anthropic's $1.5B court-approved author settlement (July 20, 2026). HarperCollins itself licenses content to Microsoft for AI training rather than being displaced by it.
- Who owns HarperCollins?
- HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS/NWSA), reported as News Corp's Book Publishing segment. It is not independently traded; News Corp disclosed FY2025 total revenue of $8.45B on August 5, 2025.
- Is HarperCollins laying off staff in 2026?
- No major 2026 layoffs are documented. The last announced cut was January 2023, when HarperCollins reduced its North American workforce by about 5%. In March 2026 it instead ratified a new three-year UAW Local 2110 union contract raising starting pay to $52,500.
- Who is HarperCollins' biggest competitor?
- Its closest rivals are the other Big Five trade publishers: Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster (sold to KKR for $1.62B in 2023), Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan. Amazon Publishing and Kindle Direct Publishing pose a distribution-side threat but haven't broken the Big Five's top-author dominance.
- Does HarperCollins license content to AI companies?
- Yes. In November 2024 it became the first Big Five publisher to sign an AI training deal, with Microsoft, paying $5,000 per book split 50/50 with opted-in authors over a three-year term, capping AI output at 200 consecutive words or 5% of text.
Timeline
- 2026-07-20Federal judge approves Anthropic's $1.5B settlement with authors over pirated book training data
- 2026-03-20HarperCollins ratifies new three-year UAW Local 2110 union contract
- 2026-02-06Q2 FY2026 sales rise 6% to $633M but earnings fall 2% to $99M on inventory write-off
- 2025-12-09Crunchyroll Manga imprint rebranded to KAZÉ with 2026 lineup unveiled
- 2025-10-01HarperCollins completes acquisition of Crunchyroll's France/Germany manga operations
- 2025-08-06FY2025 results show HarperCollins segment profit up 10% to $296M on $2.15B sales
- 2024-11-25HarperCollins signs first Big Five AI training licensing deal with Microsoft
- 2024-04-18HarperCollins partners with ElevenLabs for AI-generated foreign-language audiobooks
- 2023-08-07Rival Simon & Schuster sold by Paramount to KKR for $1.62B after blocked PRH merger
- 2023-01-31HarperCollins announces about 5% cut to North American workforce
Revision history
24 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- News Corp Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results for Fiscal 2025 (2025-08-05)
- HarperCollins Profits Rose 10% in Fiscal 2025 (2025-08-06)
- Sales Up, Profits Down at HarperCollins (2026-02-06)
- Simon & Schuster purchased by private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion (2023-08-07)
- NEWS CORP SEC 10-K Report, TradingView News (2025-08-06)
- HarperCollins Union Wins New Contract (2026-03-20)
- HarperCollins to cut North American workforce by 5% (2023-01-31)
- Microsoft and HarperCollins sign AI licensing deal (2024-11-25)
- HarperCollins and ElevenLabs AI to create audiobooks for foreign titles (2024-04-18)
- HarperCollins Completes Acquisition of Crunchyroll's Manga Publishing Operations (2025-10-01)
- Crunchyroll Manga Becomes KAZÉ and Unveils Its 2026 Line-Up (2025-12-09)
- Judge approves a $1.5B Anthropic settlement over pirated books (2026-07-20)