LONDON, March 24, 2026, 18:15 GMT
- Experian dropped 2.66% to finish at 2,566 pence. The FTSE 100 managed a 0.7% gain.
- Experian repurchased 581,708 shares at an average price of 2,667.3455 pence apiece, according to a March 24 filing.
- Experian’s full-year numbers land May 20, with January guidance still holding steady.
Shares of Experian slipped 2.66% to 2,566 pence on Tuesday, trailing the FTSE 100’s 0.7% gain. The credit-data firm revealed it had kicked off another chunk of its $1 billion buyback: a March 24 regulatory filing showed Experian purchased 581,708 shares on Monday via JPMorgan, paying an average price of 2,667.3455 pence apiece. The company said these shares will be cancelled.
This shift is notable—so far, the buyback hasn’t done much to calm the stock, which has been sliding since January. North America accounted for 68% of group revenue in Experian’s most recent trading update. Full-year numbers land May 20. Back in January, Reuters flagged that investors were fretting about weakening lending demand, changes in the mortgage market, and the specter of AI shaking up data and software players.
The broader market took a different turn Tuesday. According to Reuters, the FTSE 100 climbed as a renewed surge in oil prices — back over $100 a barrel — sent energy stocks higher. Dan Coatsworth, who heads markets at AJ Bell, pointed out that the UK index’s “outsized exposure to the energy sector” gave it the “fuel to pull ahead of the market pack.” Reuters
Experian’s most recent buyback topped the previous day’s total. According to a March 23 filing, the company picked up 399,266 shares on March 20, paying an average of 2,667.548 pence. By Tuesday’s close, the shares traded roughly 3.8% under that average price, the new filing shows.
Experian rolled out the $1 billion plan on Jan. 30, stating then that its medium-term financial framework, capital allocation framework, and dividend policy would stay the same. Tuesday’s release was simply a transaction in its own shares—not a trading update.
Chief executive Brian Cassin told investors in January that third-quarter revenue grew 8% organically, stripping out the effects of currency and acquisitions, and said, “full year expectations are unchanged.” Still, shares slumped to a 19-month low after the announcement, Reuters reported, as attention shifted to stagnant business-to-business performance in Latin America and the UK and Ireland. Experian
Competition remains intense. Back in October, Reuters reported that Fair Isaac—better known as FICO—started selling mortgage scores straight to lenders and resellers, effectively cutting out bureaus like Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Nearly 90% of U.S. lenders still use FICO scores. Then in February, Equifax CEO Mark Begor told investors that adoption of VantageScore—the alternative model owned by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—could finally pick up speed once regulators allow it for mortgages. “The significant hurdle that’s left,” he noted, is the ongoing work from FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Reuters
For bears, there’s always the chance that a pickup in U.S. mortgage and lending could still give Experian’s North American unit a lift—credit checks, loan inquiries, fraud screens, all in its wheelhouse. On the flip side, data and software names like this one are still under pressure from shaky lender demand, sluggish direct score sales and those persistent AI jitters ahead of May’s numbers.
Despite Tuesday’s buyback announcement, shares are still trading roughly 37% under their 52-week peak of 4,101 pence. The gap reflects investor sentiment just as much as it does the latest filing.
