Detailed performance report for RELX PLC covering Q2 2026. Gain clarity on earnings, revenue trends, and AI-enhanced strategic analysis.
Summary of Financial Performance: RELX delivered a strong first half with underlying revenue growth of 7%, adjusted operating profit growth of 9%, and adjusted EPS growth of 11% at constant currency. Adjusted operating margin improved 70 bps to 35.5%, cash conversion was strong at 98%, net profit rose 7% in constant currency, and the interim dividend increased 7% to 20.9p. Free cash flow exceeded GBP 1.1bn, with GBP 1.75bn returned via buybacks and leverage at 2.3x.
Company Outlook & Strategy: Management reaffirmed unchanged strategy: continue shifting the mix toward higher-growth analytics and decision tools, use AI to enhance products and accelerate launches, and keep cost growth below revenue growth. Full-year guidance remains positive, with continued strong underlying revenue growth and adjusted operating profit growth expected to exceed revenue growth in Risk, STM, and Legal; Exhibitions is expected to deliver strong growth with margin improvement. Management views Legal and STM as still on improving growth trajectories, with AI-enabled product adoption as a multi-year driver.
Key Industry Trends: In Risk, higher demand is being driven by growing complexity in fraud, financial crime compliance, insurance risk modeling, and the increasing need for AI-enabled analytics. In STM, scientific research volumes, researcher counts, and global research spending are rising, supporting strong submission growth. In Legal, the market is expanding as AI-enabled workflow and analytics tools gain traction, but broader legal tech remains much larger than RELX’s current addressable information-based niche. Management also noted that external policy changes in research funding may alter timing or mix, but do not change the fundamental global growth drivers.
Operational Highlights: Risk revenue grew 8% and profit 10%, supported by proprietary data, AI-enabled decision tools, and strong sales in business services and insurance. STM revenue rose 6% and profit 8%, driven by databases/reference tools, stronger AI product adoption, and primary research volume growth; article submissions were up over 20%. Legal revenue grew 10% and profit 13%, with Lexis+ with Protégé driving adoption, renewals, and upsell opportunities; about 90% of new sales value is now on AI-enabled platforms. Exhibitions grew 6%, though profit growth was muted by event timing, cycling, travel disruption, and some Middle East rescheduling. Management emphasized ongoing automation, GenAI-enabled internal efficiency, and organic growth as the main investment focus, with selective M&A used to complement strategy.
Challenges & Risks: Key risks include uncertainty around remaining Middle East exhibitions, travel disruption, ongoing print decline, and potential timing/mix effects in STM publications versus submissions. Management acknowledged that STM’s slower decision cycles and fragmented customer base mean growth should be gradual. They also noted external policy uncertainty in scientific publishing and research funding, but saw limited expected impact on the core business. Token costs are rising, but management said they remain manageable and under 1% of the cost base.
Key Analyst Questions & Responses: Analysts pressed on STM publication growth moderation, LeapSpace adoption, Legal competitive dynamics, margin progression, buyback pacing, M&A, and the impact of U.S. research funding proposals. Management said STM submission growth should moderate from above 20% to low double digits over time, while lower publication growth is intentional due to quality filtering. LeapSpace adoption and usage are rising strongly, with very positive customer feedback. In Legal, new sales are heavily concentrated in AI-enabled products, and once customers adopt the core platform, there is meaningful upsell potential through additional modules and workflows. On margins, management expects continued expansion over time as cost growth stays below revenue growth. On capital allocation, there is no change in approach despite faster buybacks. On external funding/proposal risks, management said the global scientific demand trend remains intact and the company can continue offering customer choice. On insurance, management sees autonomous driving as increasing data complexity and long-term opportunity rather than reducing demand.
Access the official earnings call transcript for RELX-PLC 2026 Q2. It provides valuable insights into management commentary, performance drivers, and forward-looking guidance directly from the company.