LONDON, June 11, 2026, 11:08 BST
- RELX was down in London after starting a fresh £200 million buyback tranche.
- Software and data stocks slipped after fresh concerns about AI spending and new rivals.
- Investors are watching two dates: RELX’s share buyback runs through June 26, and the company reports first-half results on July 23.
RELX PLC shares moved lower Thursday, pushing further into losses for the FTSE 100-listed data and analytics firm. Investors set aside news of a new £200 million buyback, focusing more on worries that AI could pose a bigger threat to software and information players. RELX was last seen at 2,526 pence, off 22 pence, or 0.86%, as of 10:52 BST. London’s main blue-chip index had traded up earlier in the day.
RELX is buying back stock even as the shares fall. The company said it would buy back ordinary shares from June 9 to June 26, putting £200 million toward the repurchases. RELX just finished a £150 million buyback on June 8. Both buybacks count toward a planned £2.25 billion total for 2026.
RELX starts a new “non-discretionary” buyback, sending ABN AMRO to the market to handle the trades without day-to-day direction from the company. In a buyback, the company spends its own cash to repurchase shares, which can cut the share count and help earnings per share, as long as profits don’t slip. ABN AMRO will handle all trades based on instructions given ahead of time. Ticker
Bulls aren’t getting much traction as the tape’s tone hasn’t shifted. RELX slipped 2.08% Wednesday, closing at £25.48. The move lagged the FTSE 100, which rose 0.27%. Shares are now sitting over 36% off their 52-week high, per MarketWatch.
RELX is moving on the lower share price. The company said it bought 2,951,292 shares between June 1 and June 5 via ABN AMRO, paying a volume-weighted average price between 2,475.7993 pence and 2,623.0525 pence. Since January 2, RELX has repurchased 60,417,002 ordinary shares. The most recent weekly purchases went into treasury.
RELX wasn’t the only one hit Thursday. Reuters said RELX and Sage dropped along with other software stocks, following declines in SAP and Capgemini, after Oracle announced plans for AI investments backed by debt and UBS cut its outlook for European IT. The worry is enterprise clients might move more of their budgets to new AI models, away from older software and data products.
AI debate weighs on RELX as investors keep asking if the tech is good or bad for the business. RELX sells analytics and decision tools based on data, spanning Risk, STM, Legal and Exhibitions. In April, RELX said growth is coming from a shift to higher-value analytics and AI-enabled tools.
RELX’s April update didn’t look stressed. The company said it began the year well in all four divisions and sees another year of strong underlying revenue and adjusted operating profit growth. “Underlying” here means excluding things like currency moves, M&A, disposals and timing quirks. Adjusted operating profit is the company’s version of operating profit before some accounting items. Relx
Legal is still the division investors watch. RELX reported strong double-digit gains at law firms and in corporate legal, crediting its AI-powered research and analytics platform, like Lexis+ with Protégé, for the uptick. The new platform is billed as RELX’s response to concerns that cheaper AI could undercut its premium legal data business.
RELX’s management still has numbers to back up its message. For 2025, the company reported £9.59 billion in revenue, which was up 7% on an underlying basis. Adjusted operating profit came in at £3.34 billion, up 9%, with the adjusted operating margin up to 34.8%. CEO Erik Engstrom said in February that AI “has been a key driver of our business for well over a decade,” saying the technology is already built into RELX’s model rather than arriving as a big surprise. Relx
Analysts are staying with the stock. Investors Chronicle data as of June 5 showed six Buy calls, nine Outperform, one Hold, and one Sell. The median 12-month target is 3,140 pence, about 23% higher than the 2,548 pence reference. But while consensus stays bullish, the market is still reworking AI risk every day, and optimism hasn’t been enough to move the stock.
Market timing could be the problem, not market direction. If fresh AI tech hits pricing in legal, scientific, or risk analytics, RELX might have to boost spending to protect its data edge. That could put the group’s high margins in the spotlight. RELX also lists risks from new rules on data, IP problems, cybersecurity, the economy, and geopolitics. In April, the company said a few Middle East exhibitions were pushed back.
RELX investors get news soon. The final dividend on ordinary shares is set for June 18. The buyback window closes June 26. Six-month results end-June 30 are due July 23. By that point, investors will see how much stock RELX picked up in the dip and if first-half figures back management’s claim that AI is still fueling growth, not hurting margins.
