Publishing Industry Profile

Companies in this industry publish newspapers, magazines and other periodicals, books, directories, and mailing lists, as well as items such as calendars, greeting cards, and maps. Major companies include Advance Publications, Hallmark, Hearst, News Corp, and Thomson Reuters (all based in the US), as well as Axel Springer (Germany), Pearson (UK), RELX Group (UK), and Wolters Kluwer (Netherlands).

The global publishing market will generate more than $356 billion in annual revenue by 2022, according to Technavio. The newspaper and magazine segments are experiencing contraction as circulation falls, thanks in part to the increasing accessibility of free content online. A bright spot for publishers is India, a market that is seeing rising literacy rates and a growing middle class.

The US publishing industry includes about 17,300 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $93 billion.

Book publishers, newspaper publishers, magazine publishers, and directory and mailing list publishers are included in this industry and further discussed in separate industry profiles. Internet publishing, which is not included in this industry, also is covered in a separate profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for books, magazines, and greeting cards is driven by consumer income, while demand for newspapers and directories is related to local population growth and local ad spending. The profitability of individual companies depends on marketing expertise, efficient operations, and new customers. Large companies benefit from the ability to share ...