Lagardère, owner of Hachette Book Group, reported group revenue of €8.9 billion (about $10.5 billion), up 8.5% on a year-to-year basis. Revenue in the U.S. was up 7%. That gain included results from Union Square, which Hachette bought in November 2024. Without Union Square, results were level.
Hachette Book Group CEO David Shelley said revenue was "fueled by instant bestsellers The First Gentleman by James Patterson and Bill Clinton (Little, Brown) and J vs. K by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft (Little, Brown for Young Readers) as well as top-ranking releases Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze (Grand Central), The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig (Orbit), and Nightshade by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)--all of which debuted at #1 across multiple categories."
Other important titles published in the quarter included Will the Pigeon Graduate by Mo Willems (Union Square), Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan (Grand Central), Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (Grand Central), Strangers in Time by David Baldacci (Grand Central), and Quicksilver by Callie Hart (Grand Central).
Shelley said the company expects "a notably strong upcoming Q3" with the publication of Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben (Grand Central), Circle of Days by Ken Follett (Grand Central), The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown), Softly, as I Leave You by Priscilla Presley (Grand Central), and Disrupt Everything--and Win by James Patterson (Little, Brown).
Shelley added that Hachette distribution operations "were strengthened in Q2 with back-to-back announcements about our new venture with the Stable Group, as well as the continuation of our sales and distribution relationship with independent children's publisher Nosy Crow. This is an area we are focusing on in terms of strategy."
During the second quarter, Hachette also launched the website for Raising Readers, the initiative that addresses the crisis of children reading for pleasure, as well as updated its partnership with Inkluded, a nonprofit dedicated to DEI in publishing, for which Hachette will provide in-kind support and tuition stipends to this summer's participants.