US E-Book Revenue Drops While Digital Audiobooks See Growth in July 2026

E-book revenue in the United States decreased by 3.4% in July 2026, amounting to $85.3 million. In contrast, Digital Audiobook revenues rose by 12.4% to reach $103.1 million. Additionally, Physical Audio revenues increased by 36.7%, totaling $400 thousand.

For the year-to-date, e-book revenues were down 3.1% compared to 2025, amounting to $601.4 million. Digital Audiobook revenue increased by 12.6%, equaling $700.9 million, while Physical Audio revenue fell by 8.0% to $3.1 million.

In terms of print formats, Hardback revenues rose by 18.5% to $242.5 million, and Paperbacks saw a 25.2% increase, totaling $311.6 million. However, Mass Market revenues declined by 43.7% to $5.8 million, and Special Bindings experienced a slight decrease of 1.0%, with revenues of $20.6 million.

Year-to-date figures indicate that Hardback revenues are up 1.4%, totaling $1.8 billion, while Paperbacks have increased by 10.8% to $2.0 billion. Conversely, Mass Market revenues fell significantly by 62.7% to $20.7 million, and Special Bindings revenues increased by 16.3%, reaching $132.1 million.

The AAP StatShot report provides insights into the monthly and yearly net revenue of publishing houses from various sales channels, including bookstores, wholesalers, direct-to-consumer, and online retailers. This data is sourced from over 1,416 publishers.