London, June 19, 2026, 15:03 (BST)
- Informa shares stood at 877.2 pence, up 1.6% at 15:02 BST. The stock has climbed 7.25% in the last five sessions.
- Citi moved its rating on the shares up to “buy” from “neutral” and raised the price target to 990 pence from 850 pence. The Wall Street Journal
- In the first five months, the group posted 6.4% underlying revenue growth and kept its 2026 earnings guidance in place.
Informa shares rose again Friday after Citi upgraded the stock, adding to Thursday’s 2.76% climb. The shares are up more than 7% in five days, outperforming the London market.
The timing is key. Official travel guidance drives insurance terms and companies’ decisions on business trips. Britain on Thursday dropped its warning against non-essential travel to Riyadh and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, but the area near the Yemen border still has restrictions.
Informa reported a 6.4% increase in comparable revenue for the first five months of the year, taking out non-recurring data-access contracts. The company’s business-to-business live-events revenue was up 7.6%. Its Taylor & Francis academic publisher gained 5.5%. CEO Stephen Carter said Informa had “momentum in both our businesses” and kept the full-year forecast for double-digit underlying adjusted EPS growth unchanged. Informa
About 90% of the live-events business is seeing strong growth in markets outside the areas affected by the Middle East conflict. Over 15 brands have been postponed, now set for 2026, and some launches have been pushed into 2027. For now, the disruption looks like a timing issue, not a loss of demand, though that hasn’t shown up in actual cash yet.
The Gulf events business is seeing similar trends. Richard Attias, who runs Richard Attias & Associates, called event postponements a “temporary revenue shift”. He told Reuters he expects things to get back to normal once regional tensions settle. Reuters
Citi’s argument is straightforward for investors. The market is leaning harder on the 2026 disruption, while not giving as much credit for the bigger event calendar expected next year. Forward bookings seem to back this up. Still, forward bookings are not finished events, and the risk lies in that difference.
Risks haven’t gone away. The UK Foreign Office warns attacks could start again quickly. Citi also called out risks from rising regional tension, weaker live-events growth, surprises at Taylor & Francis, and ongoing questions over Informa TechTarget. A new security issue could delay more events to 2027, push up rescheduling costs, and put the earnings goal at risk.
Interim results land July 30, about five weeks before LEAP in Riyadh and Middle East Energy in Dubai are now set to take place. Those numbers may show if exhibitor hold and attendance trends are holding up, and if deferred revenue has started to come back on plan.
Shares have bounced, but that move depends on bookings converting to actual sales, with no new delays. The price shows some relief for now. A stronger re-rating will need real delivery.
