LONDON, March 30, 2026, 16:07 BST
Shares in RELX PLC edged up 1.9% to 2,438 pence on Monday, climbing from Friday’s close at 2,393 pence, Reuters market data showed. The British information and analytics group outperformed in London trading. 1
Why does the jump matter? RELX still has to persuade investors that artificial intelligence will tighten, not loosen, its hold across law, banking, and science markets. Back in February, the company posted a 9% gain in adjusted operating profit, reaching 3.34 billion pounds, on revenue of 9.59 billion pounds. Finance chief Nick Luff told Reuters the advantage comes from always-updated data and its own algorithms. Rivals Wolters Kluwer and Thomson Reuters got caught up in the same AI-fueled selloff. 2
RELX announced in a March 23 filing that it plans to buy back up to 350 million pounds of its shares from March 23 through April 22, extending its ongoing share repurchase strategy. The programme, managed independently by J.P. Morgan, comes after RELX wrapped up a separate 450 million pound buyback on March 20. Both tranches are part of the company’s larger 2.25 billion pound repurchase target for 2026. 3
Chief Executive Erik Engstrom flagged the company’s pivot to analytics and decision tools as the engine behind its long-term growth, noting AI has contributed to customer value “for well over a decade.” RELX reported buybacks totaling 1.5 billion pounds in 2025, aiming for 2.25 billion pounds this year—of which 250 million pounds had been executed by Feb. 12. 4
Some analysts aren’t convinced the AI risk is as big as investors fear. Mark Murphy, who leads U.S. enterprise software research at JPMorgan, called it “an illogical leap” to assume a new AI plug-in could wipe out “every layer of mission-critical enterprise software,” even after the broad selloff that dragged down RELX as well. 5
Some skeptics aren’t buying the idea that buybacks alone will make a real difference. Andrew Slimmon at Morgan Stanley Investment Management called them “an attempt to stop the decline.” For Peter Tuz at Chase Investment Counsel, it still comes down to “demonstrated evidence” that AI won’t disrupt the core business of a software company. 6
The downside argument stacks up fast. RELX’s most recent annual report lays out a host of risks—operational, financial, cybersecurity, legal, regulatory compliance, and reputational all get a mention. That’s a wide net for a company focused on information analytics and decision tools for professionals. 7
Next up: RELX’s annual general meeting and 2026 trading update, both set for April 23. Investors will be watching for signs—are gains still being driven by growth, or has the buyback turned into the primary prop for the shares?
