AAP reports total US publishing revenue at about $1 billion for December 2025, up 9.4% year over year, with trade books up 14.2% for the month. The monthly trade split looks uneven: hardbacks and paperbacks climbed, while ebooks dipped 2.8% and digital audio dipped 0.8%, with physical audio still tiny but up.
The year-to-date trade view is less rosy at -0.5%, which makes this feel more like a strong holiday finish than a clean across-the-board expansion. AAP also notes its figures are rolling snapshots from roughly 1,300 publishers and can shift as participants restate prior numbers, so the trendline matters more than any one monthly spike.
(Shortened and summarised to avoid devaluing the source)