AI models are trained on Reddit. Turns out they also need something more credible, and a 200-year-old publisher owns it.

$WLY +73% YTD.

You probably know Wiley, the publisher behind academic textbooks and encyclopedias. To the wider public, it's best known for its For Dummies series.

For years the company's revenue stagnated, with profitable years alternating with losses. Assets like this are usually of little interest to investors. Yet this year shares of John Wiley & Sons are up 73% year-to-date, reaching multi-year highs. Where is all this interest coming from?

The 200-year-old publisher looks ready to claim its slice of the AI pie. AI developers want their answers grounded not only in user-generated content from forums like Reddit (a primary source of training data), but also in professional academic knowledge.

Anthropic and Perplexity license Wiley's scientific literature to embed it into their products, and in return the company earns annual licensing payments. Wiley has signed a major partnership with OpenEvidence, an AI tool for physicians, and acquired Emerald Publishing, a large publisher of academic journals.

AI revenue still makes up only a small share of total income, but it's a high-margin segment with the potential for steady growth.

It's an interesting asset to keep an eye on, and one that's part of the Dividend Aristocrats portfolio in Bastion's algorithmic strategies.