The way you hit profit targets without hitting revenue targets is to cut expenses. S&S has developed expertise in cutting expenses, with numerous rounds of layoffs over recent years. Too much of this, however, and you wind up in a death spiral.
PW: "In a year-end letter to employees that dealt heavily with digital developments and its impact on the industry and Simon & Schuster, company CEO Carolyn Reidy thanked the publisher’s worldwide staff for their efforts in helping the company achieve its profit targets, despite revenues falling below expectations.
Reidy said sales were 'lower than we'd like them to be' primarily because of a soft bricks-and-mortar bookselling environment that offset digital gains. ... "
