STM vs WLY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: WLY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. STM and WLY share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined STM and WLY exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

STMicroelectronics designs and manufactures a broad range of semiconductors, including analog chips, power and discrete devices (notably silicon carbide, where it holds the largest global share at roughly a third of the market), microcontrollers, MEMS sensors, and RF products. Its customers are concentrated in automotive (electrification, ADAS, body and safety electronics) and industrial (factory automation, power conversion, energy), with a more cyclical consumer and personal-electronics business layered on top. Unlike fabless designers, ST owns its fabs, which makes it capital-intensive and highly sensitive to factory utilization, a dynamic that has weighed heavily on margins during the recent downturn.

Full STM guide

John Wiley & Sons is a scholarly publisher and research-intelligence company headquartered at 111 River Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, with roughly 4,500 employees worldwide and a corporate history running back to 1807. It reports in two segments. Research, at ~$1.13 billion of fiscal 2026 revenue, publishes peer-reviewed STM journals and sells content platforms, publishing services and audience solutions to universities, corporations, governments and academic societies; the Wiley Online Library and the Atypon platform business sit here. Learning, at ~$547 million, covers the Academic and Professional lines: scientific and professional books, digital courseware, the For Dummies imprint, and workplace assessment products such as Everything DiSC and The Five Behaviors. About 85% of revenue is digital and roughly 48% is recurring under subscriptions or contractually obligated agreements. The company also runs a dual-class structure that has been in place for decades, with Class B largely held by the Wiley family.

Full WLY guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• STM drivers: Silicon carbide and automotive electrification; Cyclical recovery off the trough.
• WLY drivers: Research publishing scale, now enlarged by Emerald; AI and data licensing as the second engine.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: STM is deeply cyclical and capital-intensive, so weak factory utilization can compress margins sharply, as it did in 2025 when operating margin fell near breakeven. For WLY, the clearest tension is that generative AI is both Wiley's newest customer and a credible substitute for parts of what it sells, particularly professional reference and courseware in Learning.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick STM if you believe its drivers more; WLY if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the STM and WLY guides.

STM. STM's valuation looks expensive on forward earnings largely because profits are depressed at the bottom of the cycle, not because the business is structurally rich. Revenue troughed near $3.1 billion in Q1 2026 with gross margin around 33.8%, well below the 44 to 46% level management targets in its longer-term model. The multiple therefore embeds an expectation that margins and earnings recover meaningfully over the next couple of years.

WLY. At ~$54, WLY trades near ~13x fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS and roughly ~11x the midpoint of the ~$4.60 to ~$5.05 fiscal 2027 guidance range, a discount to information-services peers that reflects flat revenue and the Learning drag. The stock has been volatile in a way the financials are not: the 52-week range runs from ~$28 to ~$57, so most of the move has come from how the market is choosing to value AI content licensing rather than from reported results. Wiley raised its dividend for a 32nd consecutive year in fiscal 2026 at ~$1.42 per share annualized, and it reports on an April fiscal year end, so the calendar is a quarter offset from most comparables.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): STM shows revenue (ttm) ~$12B, fy2025 revenue ~$11.8B (down ~11%), q1 2026 revenue ~$3.1B (up ~23% YoY), q1 2026 gross margin ~33.8%; WLY shows revenue (fy2026, ended april 2026) ~$1.68 billion, roughly flat year over year, research segment revenue ~$1.13 billion, up ~5%, adjusted ebitda ~$440 million, ~26.2% margin (record), adjusted eps ~$4.19 (GAAP diluted ~$4.16).

STM and WLY are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined STM and WLY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.