Shares in Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) rallied 16% to 552p after the company said FY27 profits will smash market expectations. The earnings upgrade was driven by the upcoming release of two new books by bestselling author Sarah J. Maas.
The next two novels in the ACOTAR series will be published in October 2026 and January 2027. ACOTAR is the trade acronym for “A Court of Thorns and Roses”. All 16 of Maas’ previous novels were published by Bloomsbury.
The publisher said FY26 pre-tax profit will meet the £44.3 million consensus estimate, supported by a strong Academic division performance.
However, FY27 pre-tax profit is now expected to be ‘materially ahead’ of the £44.5 million consensus estimate. To be clear the previous consensus had assumed no significant contribution from these new Maas titles for the period.
Publishing history
CEO Nigel Newton commented: ‘Fans all over the world are eagerly anticipating reading the next books in the ACOTAR series and we are very excited about this news.’
And Newton added: ‘Publishing two novels within 11 weeks of each other from a bestselling author is almost unprecedented in publishing history.’
According to Circana sales data, Maas was the highest-selling author in the US in 2024. And she was also the number one bestselling Fantasy author in the UK in 2025.
Why brokers are bullish
Peel Hunt (PEEL:AIM), which an 815p price target for Bloomsbury, estimates the Maas book launches should boost FY27 profit by 11% to 13%.
And Berenberg analyst William Larwood said: ‘This is positive news given that we were only expecting one title from the author.’
The exciting Maas news opens another exciting chapter for Bloomsbury. The business has a strong balance sheet and an impressive track record of delivering profit upgrades.
The company is not only profiting from the success of Maas’ ‘romantasy’ novels and bestsellers from Samantha Shannon and Katherine Rundell. It has also broadened its portfolio through smart moves into academic publishing and digital content.
Read the press release here: https://www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk/investor/i_dates.asp
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