RELX reports 7% revenue growth as AI tools drive double-digit gains in legal division

RELX's growth accelerates in scientific and legal units

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Information and analytics group RELX (REL.L), opens new tab reported accelerating growth in its scientific and legal divisions on Thursday, providing some relief to investors worried about the impact of AI companies like Anthropic on its business. The British company reported underlying growth of 7% in the six months to end-June, while adjusted operating profit rose 9% as it improved its margin by 70 basis points. The ⁠performance of its scientific, technical and medical division and its legal unit was notable, with the former up by a record 6% and the latter up by 10%. RELX reiterated its forecast for another year of "strong underlying growth" in revenue and adjusted operating profit. Chief Executive Officer Erik Engstrom said an improving growth trajectory was driven by the shift towards higher-growth analytics and decision tools, underpinned by AI. Shares in RELX and its rivals like Wolters Kluwer (WLSNc.AS), opens new tab and Thomson Reuters have been hit by concerns about the long-term impact of AI companies, such as Anthropic's ⁠push into the legal sector, on their business. RELX's shares rose 2.6% after its results, which analysts at Citi said should be taken positively. But they are still trading 35% lower than they were a year ago. Chief Financial Officer Nick Luff said RELX was applying generative AI capabilities to its trusted ⁠and curated data to help its customers in the legal, scientific, and financial services sectors. He said hundreds of thousands of professionals were using the tools such as Lexis+ with Protege daily. "We serve professional markets ⁠where trust really matters, where people care about getting the right answer that they can absolutely rely on," he said in an interview on Thursday. "If you think of doctors, ⁠researchers, lawyers and banks, they are making high-value decisions where being roughly right is not good enough." RELX reported revenue of £4.87 billion ($6.51 billion) and adjusted operating profit of £1.73 billion for the period. ($1 = 0.7484 pounds) Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Muvija M and Tomasz Janowski Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

RELX H1 2026 slides: 7% revenue growth, AI tools drive Legal gains By Investing.com

RELX (NYSE:RELX) presented its first half 2026 results on July 23, 2026, reporting underlying revenue growth of 7% and adjusted operating profit growth of 9%, demonstrating continued momentum across its information analytics and decision tools businesses. The British company's shares rose 0.82% to $33.01 in pre-market trading, reflecting investor confidence in the company's AI-driven growth strategy and consistent execution. The results showed adjusted earnings per share climbing 11% at constant currency, outpacing both revenue and profit growth as the company benefited from margin expansion and continued share buybacks. All four business divisions contributed to growth, with the Legal segment leading the way at 10% underlying revenue growth. Financial Performance Highlights RELX delivered strong financial results across key metrics in the first half of 2026, as illustrated in the company's presentation. The following chart shows the headline growth figures: Total revenue reached £4,871 million, up 3% in sterling terms and 5% at constant currency, with underlying growth of 7% after adjusting for acquisitions and disposals. Adjusted operating profit grew to £1,727 million, representing 9% underlying growth and demonstrating operational leverage as cost growth remained below revenue growth. The company's adjusted operating margin expanded by 70 basis points to 35.5%, up from 34.8% in the first half of 2025. This margin improvement reflects RELX's disciplined cost management and the scalability of its subscription-based business model, which generates a gross profit margin of 66.3%. The comprehensive financial snapshot below details the company's performance across income statement and balance sheet metrics: Adjusted cash flow conversion remained strong at 98%, while net debt stood at £8.7 billion, representing 2.3 times EBITDA -- comfortably within the company's target leverage range of 2.0 to 2.5 times. The company increased its interim dividend by 7% to 20.9 pence per share, marking the 15th consecutive year of dividend increases. Segment Performance Analysis The presentation revealed differentiated growth across RELX's four business divisions, with each contributing positively to overall performance. The following visualization breaks down revenue and profit growth by segment: The Legal division emerged as the standout performer, delivering 10% underlying revenue growth and 13% adjusted operating profit growth. Revenue reached £959 million with an operating margin of 21.7%, up 80 basis points year-over-year. The segment's performance was driven by strong adoption of Lexis+ with Protégé, the company's AI-enabled legal research and analytics platform featuring an integrated agentic legal assistant. According to the presentation, approximately 90% of new sales value in Legal now comes from the AI-enabled platform, with roughly three-quarters of renewal value tied to it. This represents a fundamental shift in the business model comparable to the industry's earlier transition from print to electronic products. The Risk segment maintained strong momentum with 8% underlying revenue growth and 10% adjusted operating profit growth, generating £1,810 million in revenue. The division's operating margin improved to 38.5% from 37.8%. Growth was broad-based across Business Services, Insurance, and Specialized Industry Data Services, with particular strength in Financial Crime Compliance and digital Fraud & Identity solutions. Scientific, Technical & Medical (STM) showed improving trajectory with 6% underlying revenue growth and 8% adjusted operating profit growth on revenue of £1,370 million. The segment's operating margin expanded to 37.9% from 37.1%. Growth was supported by an accelerating pace of new product introductions, including AI-enabled tools such as Scopus AI and LeapSpace, as well as strong performance in higher value-add databases and tools. The Exhibitions segment delivered 6% underlying revenue growth but only 2% adjusted operating profit growth, with revenue of £575 million. The operating margin declined to 39.3% from 40.3%, reflecting cycling and timing effects as well as some travel disruption affecting events. Despite the margin compression in the first half, the company expects improvement over the full year. The detailed revenue breakdown table shows performance across all segments: Similarly, the adjusted operating profit performance by segment demonstrates consistent profit growth exceeding revenue growth across most divisions: Strategic Direction and AI Investment RELX's strategic framework centers on developing increasingly sophisticated information-based analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to professional and business customers. The company outlined its comprehensive strategy and objectives: The strategy emphasizes organic growth supported by targeted acquisitions, with each segment assigned specific revenue growth objectives. Risk and Exhibitions are tasked with sustaining strong long-term growth profiles, while STM and Legal are focused on continuing their improving growth trajectories. Across all divisions, the company aims to keep underlying cost growth below underlying revenue growth. AI-enabled products represent a key pillar of this strategy. In Legal, the Lexis+ platform with Protégé is seeing strong adoption among law firms and corporate legal departments. In STM, tools like Scopus AI and LeapSpace are helping researchers work more efficiently. The company views these AI capabilities as competitive advantages, particularly its ability to optimize token costs by selecting the most appropriate model or agent for each specific task. The presentation highlighted that RELX's revenue mix supports this digital transformation strategy. The following breakdown shows the company's revenue composition: With 86% of revenue now electronic and 54% subscription-based, RELX has established a highly recurring revenue model that provides visibility and supports continued investment in product development. Geographic diversification also remains strong, with 59% of revenue from North America, 21% from Europe, and 20% from the rest of the world. Cash Flow and Capital Allocation RELX generated robust cash flow in the first half of 2026, converting 98% of adjusted operating profit into adjusted cash flow. The detailed cash flow statement shows strong operational performance: Free cash flow after interest, tax, and acquisition-related items reached £1,163 million, up from £1,146 million in the prior year period. Capital expenditure totaled £292 million, representing approximately 6% of revenue, as the company continued investing in product development and technology infrastructure. The company deployed capital across multiple priorities, as shown in the following breakdown: Share buybacks totaled £1,750 million in the first half, representing substantial progress toward the planned £2,250 million full-year program. Dividends paid amounted to £851 million, while acquisition spending was relatively modest at £103 million net of disposals. This capital allocation reflects RELX's commitment to returning excess cash to shareholders while maintaining financial flexibility for strategic investments. Net debt increased to £8,733 million from £7,443 million at the prior year-end, primarily due to the accelerated share buyback program. However, the net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.3 times remains within the company's target range, providing capacity for future capital allocation. Forward-Looking Outlook RELX expressed confidence in its continued momentum and provided positive guidance for the full year 2026. The company's outlook statement emphasized expectations for strong performance across all key metrics: Management expects another year of strong underlying growth in both revenue and adjusted operating profit, with adjusted earnings per share growing strongly on a constant currency basis. The company anticipates continued margin expansion as cost growth remains below revenue growth. By segment, the outlook calls for Risk to continue strong underlying revenue growth with profit growth exceeding revenue growth. STM is expected to maintain its improving trajectory, supported by AI-enabled tools and strong article submission growth. Legal should sustain strong growth as Lexis+ with Protégé gains further traction in the market. Exhibitions is projected to deliver continued strong underlying revenue growth with margin improvement over the prior full year, though some uncertainty remains around events in the Middle East. The company plans to maintain its disciplined capital allocation approach, keeping leverage within its 2.0 to 2.5 times target range while continuing share buybacks and dividend growth. Capital expenditure is expected to remain around 6% of revenue to support ongoing product development and technology investments. With 35 consecutive years of dividend payments and a current dividend yield of 3.88%, RELX continues to position itself as a reliable income generator for shareholders while investing in growth opportunities, particularly in AI-enabled analytics and decision tools that are reshaping its core markets. Full presentation: This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.