Springer Nature reports strong first-half growth
Springer Nature has reported its first-half results for 2026, with growth across its journals portfolio, continued expansion of its transformative agreement programme and increasing use of AI throughout its publishing operations.
The publisher reported revenue of €939.8 million for the first six months of the year, up from €925.9 million in the same period in 2025, representing underlying growth of 6.2%. Adjusted operating profit increased to €246.2 million from €240.6 million, with underlying growth of 7.7%.
Research remained the company’s main growth engine, generating revenue of €748.0 million, up from €730.7 million in the same period last year. Underlying growth of 7.2% was driven by the journals portfolio, with Springer Nature reporting that published article output increased by around 13%, ahead of estimated market growth of approximately 8%.
Frank Vrancken Peeters, CEO of Springer Nature, said: “We delivered a strong first half, with our Research segment again outperforming the market. This reflects our leadership in open access, the use of AI-enabled tools, and our continuous investment in growth. We launched 39 new journals and Nature Books, a new imprint in academic books. Reflecting recent momentum, we have updated our guidance and now expect underlying growth of around 6% in 2026.”
The company said it had completed almost all of its 2026 contract renewals by the middle of the year.
Open access also continued to expand, with Springer Nature signing 19 new transformative agreements during the first half of 2026. The publisher now has 101 agreements in place with national consortia, government bodies and research institutions, covering more than 4,400 organisations worldwide.
The first half also saw the launch of 39 new journals, including Nature Progress Oncology, Nature Progress Brain Health, Scientific Reviews, BMC Sustainability and 14 new Discover titles. In July, Springer Nature also launched Nature Books, a new academic books imprint bringing together Nature’s editorial expertise with the company’s established books programme.
AI featured prominently across the company’s operations. Springer Nature said more than 60% of manuscript submissions were processed through SNAPP, its integrated AI-enabled publishing platform, during the first half of the year. It also expanded the beta version of Nature Research Assistant with the introduction of Manuscript Adviser, which is designed to help authors strengthen the scientific rigour of manuscripts before submission.
Beyond publishing, book revenue increased across both print and digital formats, while services revenue benefited from growth in text and data mining solutions for corporate customers. This was partially offset by a more challenging market for advertising and talent-related services in the United States.
The company also pointed to its recently announced ARC3 AI partnership with a leading medical information platform, aimed at making trusted scientific content available within AI-powered clinical workflows.
Research adjusted operating profit rose to €228.7 million, compared with €219.6 million in the first half of 2025, representing underlying growth of 8.2%.
Springer Nature also continued to reshape its portfolio during the period. Scientific American was acquired by LabX Media Group in June, while the sale of Spektrum der Wissenschaft to GeraNova Bruckmann completed at the end of July.
Although financial terms were not disclosed, the two consumer media businesses contributed around €25 million to Research revenue in 2025. Springer Nature said the disposals are expected to be slightly accretive to adjusted operating profit.