What Annual Reviews does

Annual Reviews is a California-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit scholarly publisher founded in 1932 that produces 46+ peer-reviewed scientific review journals spanning biomedical/life sciences (32 titles), physical sciences (16 titles), and economics/social sciences (3 titles), with the Annual Review of Biochemistry serving as the flagship journal since inception. The organization operates a digital publishing platform providing online access, print-plus-online bundles, and Electronic Back Volume Collections, with Shibboleth federated authentication enabling single sign-on for thousands of academic institutions globally. The Subscribe to Open (S2O) program converts gated journal volumes to open access when institutional subscribers support the program, with 2026 expansions covering 11 additional journal titles and Katina Magazine.

The company generates revenue through institutional site-licensed subscriptions (the primary stream), personal subscriptions with student/graduate discounts, pay-per-view article purchases, society partnership reseller arrangements, and philanthropic donations supporting open access and Knowable Magazine. Distribution combines direct institutional sales (via [email protected]), subscription agent/vendor channels, self-serve ecommerce for individuals, and society partner resellers. Sub-brands include Knowable Magazine (science journalism for general audiences, with a Spanish edition), Katina Magazine (librarianship), The Charleston Advisor, and the Charleston Conference/Hub ecosystem. The company maintains global reach across academic and research institutions, with 51-100 employees headquartered in Palo Alto per firmographic data (with a Los Angeles, CA P.O. Box listed in operational records). Leadership includes President and Editor-in-Chief Richard Gallagher, CFO Jonathan Michael, and Founder (historical) Murray Luck.

Name

Annual Reviews

Legal name

Annual Reviews

Website

https://annualreviews.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Annual Reviews is a nonprofit scientific publisher founded in 1932 that produces 46+ peer-reviewed review journals across biomedical, physical, and social sciences, serving academic institutions, libraries, and researchers globally via subscriptions and the Subscribe to Open program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scholarly Journal Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Book Publishers (513130), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAC), Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)

Keywords

• Scholarly journal publishing
• Peer-reviewed review journals
• Academic publishing
• Scientific review articles
• Institutional journal subscriptions

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Subscriptions: Annual Reviews generates primary revenue through institutional subscriptions where universities, libraries, and research institutions purchase site licenses for online access. Institutions can choose Online-Only, Print + Online, or Collection subscriptions. Multi-site licensing and consortium pricing are available for larger organizations.
2. Personal Subscriptions: Individual subscribers can purchase personal subscriptions for their own use with Print, Online, or Print + Online options. Subscriptions purchased online include permanent data rights to that volume.
3. Pay Per View: Individual articles can be purchased on a pay-per-view basis for access to a single article (including PDF download) for 7 days, with permanent rights to the PDF upon purchase.
4. Society Partnerships: Scientific society members can purchase Annual Reviews at reduced rates through society partnership arrangements, with some societies permitting direct ordering from Annual Reviews.
5. Philanthropy/Donations: As a nonprofit publisher, Annual Reviews accepts tax-deductible gifts to support Knowable Magazine publication, S2O open access conversion, development of actionable research summaries, and interdisciplinary online events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Annual Reviews is a nonprofit scientific publisher that produces 50+ peer-reviewed annual review journals covering biomedical, life, physical, and social sciences. The company offers institutional and personal subscriptions (online and print), pay-per-view article access, society partnership pricing, and open access conversion through its Subscribe to Open (S2O) program. It also operates ancillary science-journalism and library-community publications including Knowable Magazine, Katina Magazine, and The Charleston Advisor.

Product overview

Annual Reviews is a nonprofit academic publisher that produces a collection of 50+ peer-reviewed review journals spanning biomedical, life, physical, and social sciences. The core portfolio consists of annual review journals that publish comprehensive review articles written by leading researchers in each field. Related offerings include Knowable Magazine (science journalism for general audiences), Katina Magazine (librarianship topics), and The Charleston Advisor (scholarly communication resources). The Subscribe to Open program enables institutional subscribers to collectively fund the conversion of journals to open access. Products are available through personal and institutional subscription models with print and online options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Knowable Magazine: Authoritative source of high-quality science journalism for a general audience, published by Annual Reviews
• Katina Magazine
• The Charleston Advisor

Products and services

• Annual Review of Biochemistry The flagship journal of Annual Reviews, publishing comprehensive peer-reviewed review articles in biological chemistry and molecular biology since 1932, for researchers, faculty, and students.
• Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry Reviews physical, chemical, and biological measurements drawing from biology, physics, and engineering disciplines; publishes annual review articles on measurement techniques and methodologies.
• Annual Review of Animal Biosciences Covers biotechnology, genetics, genomics, breeding, veterinary medicine, conservation, and zoo biology for domesticated and wild animal species.
• Annual Review of Anthropology Encompasses archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistics, regional studies, and sociocultural anthropology.
• Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics Reviews the sun, solar system and extrasolar planets, stars, galaxies, active galactic nuclei, cosmology, and instrumentation.
• Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science Focuses on advanced methods to store, retrieve, analyze, and organize biomedical data and knowledge.
• Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering Covers biomechanics, biomaterials, computational genomics and proteomics, tissue engineering, healthcare engineering, drug delivery, and bioelectrical engineering.
• Annual Review of Biophysics Reviews macromolecular structure, function and dynamics, theoretical and computational biophysics, membrane biophysics, and emerging techniques.
• Annual Review of Cancer Biology Reviews cancer cell biology, tumorigenesis and cancer progression, and translational cancer science.
• Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology Covers cell structure, function, and organization; developmental and evolutionary processes; and models and tools for molecular biology.
• Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Addresses physical, chemical, and biological phenomena towards advances in chemical process design and new products.
• Annual Review of Clinical Psychology Explores research, theory, and application of psychological principles addressing disorders including schizophrenia, mood, anxiety, childhood, substance use, cognitive, and personality disorders.
• Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics Explores research areas in materials science and biology related to condensed matter.
• Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems Covers control, robotics, theoretical and applied mechanics, optimization, communication, information theory, machine learning, computing, and signal processing.
• Annual Review of Criminology Provides comprehensive reviews of significant developments in criminology including the nature of criminal behavior and societal reactions to crime.
• Annual Review of Developmental Psychology Covers significant advances in developmental sciences including cognitive, linguistic, social, cultural, and biological processes across the lifespan.
• Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences Reviews topics ranging from climate, environment, geological hazards to planet formation and evolution of life.
• Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Covers phylogeny, speciation, molecular evolution, behavior, evolutionary physiology, population dynamics, ecosystem processes, conservation, and management.
• Annual Review of Economics Covers macroeconomics, microeconomics, international economics, public finance, health economics, economic growth, development, and social economics.
• Annual Review of Financial Economics Publishes reviews in financial economics covering asset pricing, corporate finance, banking, market microstructure, and related areas.
• Annual Review of Marine Science Reviews oceanography, marine biology, marine ecology, marine biogeochemistry, and related marine science disciplines.
• Annual Review of Neuroscience Publishes review articles in neuroscience covering molecular, cellular, systems, cognitive, and behavioral neuroscience.
• Annual Review of Political Science Reviews political science research across political theory, comparative politics, international relations, American politics, and political methodology.
• Annual Review of Psychology Publishes annual review articles across the field of psychology covering cognition, neuroscience, development, social, clinical, and applied areas.
• Annual Review of Public Health Reviews significant developments in public health including epidemiology, health policy, health services, and population health.
• Annual Review of Sociology Reviews sociological research covering social theory, methods, culture, stratification, demography, organizations, and policy.
• Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application Reviews statistical methodology and its application across scientific disciplines, including theoretical, computational, and applied statistics.
• Knowable Magazine Authoritative source of high-quality science journalism for a general audience, published by Annual Reviews as a nonprofit initiative to communicate scientific research to the public; available in English and Spanish (Knowable en Español).
• Katina Magazine Magazine for library professionals covering topics related to scholarly communication, open access, and library science; moving to Subscribe to Open in 2026.
• The Charleston Advisor Archive resource providing reviews and analysis of scholarly communication topics for library professionals, including the Charleston Conference archive.
• Electronic Back Volume Collection (EBVC) Provides access to electronic versions of historical journal volumes for institutions and individuals as a perpetual add-on to current subscriptions.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Knowledge UnlatchedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Reviews participates in Knowledge Unlatched's pledging program, offering books publishing in 2027 for library support through the Knowledge Unlatched platform.
• Scientific Societies (Various)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAnnual Reviews has partnerships with scientific societies who offer their members discounted access to Annual Reviews journals. Many societies allow direct ordering from Annual Reviews with member pricing.
• Academic Institutions via ShibbolethcoreTechnology or IntegrationShibboleth single sign-on integration with thousands of academic institutions worldwide enables seamless institutional authentication and access to subscribed content.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• eLife: eLife is a nonprofit peer-reviewed scientific journal (and research-communication platform) in the life and biomedical sciences, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and others. It is directly comparable to Annual Reviews as a mission-driven, OA-oriented publisher of authoritative review-style research content for the scientific community.
• Oxford University Press (OUP): OUP is the publishing arm of the University of Oxford and a major nonprofit academic publisher of peer-reviewed journals across sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It is directly comparable as a mission-driven, nonprofit journal publisher serving institutional libraries and society partners, with overlapping subject coverage including economics and social sciences.
• Cambridge University Press (CUP): CUP is a nonprofit academic publisher and part of the University of Cambridge, producing peer-reviewed journals in sciences, social sciences, and humanities for global institutional customers. Directly comparable to Annual Reviews as a university-aligned, mission-driven journal publisher with society partnerships and open access initiatives.
• PLOS: PLOS is a nonprofit open-access scientific publisher producing peer-reviewed journals (PLOS Biology, PLOS ONE, etc.). Directly comparable as a mission-driven, nonprofit publisher navigating the shift from subscription to open access models - the same transition Annual Reviews is addressing through its Subscribe to Open (S2O) program.

Broad incumbents

• Springer Nature: Springer Nature is one of the world's largest academic publishers, producing thousands of peer-reviewed journals across STM and social sciences, including Nature Reviews series. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving institutional library customers with subscription and OA journal portfolios that directly overlap Annual Reviews' review-journal value proposition.
• Elsevier: Elsevier (RELX Group) publishes major subscription-based STM journals and review series, including Cell Press titles and hundreds of society journals. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same institutional library budgets and society partnership arrangements that drive Annual Reviews' revenue.
• Wiley: Wiley publishes hundreds of peer-reviewed academic journals across scientific, medical, and social-science disciplines, with significant institutional subscription revenue. It directly overlaps Annual Reviews' institutional and society partnership GTM motion and competes for limited library acquisition budgets.
• Taylor & Francis (Informa): Taylor & Francis, part of Informa, publishes thousands of peer-reviewed journals including review-format titles in the social sciences and humanities. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same university and society partner dollars that fund Annual Reviews' subscription business.
• SAGE Publishing: SAGE Publishing is an independent academic publisher specializing in social sciences, humanities, and STM journals, with strong institutional and society distribution. Comparable as an incumbent competing for the same library and society partner budget pool that funds Annual Reviews' subscription offerings.

Others

• JSTOR: JSTOR is a nonprofit digital library providing access to back issues of scholarly journals and review series across disciplines, commonly licensed by academic libraries. It is comparable as a mission-driven, library-facing scholarly content platform that overlaps with Annual Reviews' institutional customer base and back-volume product offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AnnualReviews
• Facebookfacebook.com/AnnualReviews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/annual-reviews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Annual Reviews