ii view: buying opportunity at FTSE 100 company RELX?

First-half results to 30 June

• Adjusted sales up 7% to £4.87 billion
• Adjusted operating profit up 9% to £1.7 billion
• Interim dividend up 7% to 20.9p per share
• £400 million left of a previously announced £2.25 billion share buyback
• Group net debt up 17% to £8.73 billion

Chief executive Erik Engstrom said: “RELX delivered strong underlying revenue and profit growth and strong new sales in the first half of 2026.

“Our improving long-term growth trajectory continues to be driven by the ongoing shift in business mix towards higher-growth analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers.

“The ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence is enabling us to add more value to our customers, to develop and launch higher value-add products at a faster pace, and continue to manage cost growth below revenue growth. This evolution has been a key driver of our business for well over a decade, and will remain a key driver of customer value and growth in our business for many years to come.”

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ii round-up:

RELX (LSE:REL) is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

The FTSE 100 company operates across four divisions. Risk, providing data to industries such as insurance, generated the most sales during 2025 at 36%. Those for Scientific, Technical & Medical (STM) and providing data for journals came next at 28%.

Sales to the Legal industry came in at 19%, with the group’s Exhibitions business generating most of the 17% balance.

For a round-up of these latest results, please click here.

ii view:

Started in 1903, RELX today employs more than 37,000 people with around 40% in North America. Some 40 offices globally serve customers in around 180 countries. Geographically, North America generated the most sales during its last financial year at close to three-fifths. The UK and Europe came next with each at close to a fifth, with the balance of under a tenth via the rest of the world. Competitors include Thomson Reuters Corp (TSE:TRI) and Wolters Kluwer NV (EURONEXT:WKL).

For investors, concerns over the impact of AI on RELX’s business over the longer term are unlikely to go away. The tough economic backdrop for corporate customers and the temptation to try and reduce subscription fees should not be ignored. Possible future cuts in US government funding for research also warrant consideration, while a rise in debt moved the ratio of net debt to adjusted profits (EBITDA) to 2.3 times from a previous 2.2 times.  

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To the upside, an acceleration in adjusted sales growth for both STM and Legal offers reassurance. Customer demand for data across industries such as risk and medicine will remain, with RELX itself also employing technology and AI to enhance its own services. An ongoing review of the group’s business portfolio continues to drive small bolt-on acquisitions and sales, while more than 10 years of consecutive annual dividend increases leaves the shares sat on an estimated future yield of close to 3%.

In all, the exact impact of AI on RELX and many other companies remains difficult to predict. That said, RELX’s foot in the door with varying industries and a consensus analyst estimate of fair value sat at over £33 per share will likely keep investors highly interested.

Positives:

• Diversity in both business type and geographical region
• Growing dividend payment

Negatives:

• Uncertain economic outlook
• Subject to currency headwinds

The average rating of stock market analysts:

Buy