LONDON, July 2, 2026, 12:11 BST
- RELX traded at 2,322p, off 1.61% as of 11:49 BST. The FTSE 100 gained 0.40% at the same time.
- At this level, the fresh £100 million buyback would get around 4.31 million shares, up 74% from what RELX could have bought at its 52-week high.
- RELX picked up 69.19 million shares since Jan. 2. The company’s half-year results land July 23.
RELX PLC (LON:REL) slipped Thursday even as London stocks moved up, so buybacks by the information and analytics company stretched further at the lower share price.
Shares traded at 2,322p as of 11:49 BST, down 1.61% for the session. The FTSE 100 Index (UKX:INDEXFTSE) was last up 0.40% at 10,520.63, hitting near a 52-week high at 11:00 BST. UK data name Experian plc (LON:EXPN) gained 0.19% to 2,584p.
| Instrument | Last price | Day move | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| RELX PLC (LON:REL) | 2,322p | -1.61% | 11:49 BST |
| FTSE 100 Index (UKX:INDEXFTSE) | 10,520.63 | +0.40% | 11:00 BST |
| Experian plc (LON:EXPN) | 2,584p | +0.19% | 12:09 BST |
The bigger issue for investors isn’t today’s drop. It’s the spread between the current price and RELX’s ongoing buyback. RELX launched a £100 million buyback on July 1, planning to run it through July 21. That’s right after the group wrapped a £200 million tranche on June 26. For 2026, RELX has said it expects to run £2.25 billion in buybacks.
At 2,322p, a £100 million buyback would take out or move to treasury roughly 4.31 million shares. That drops to about 2.48 million at the 52-week high of 4,030p. Using the current price, RELX gets around 1.83 million more shares for the same spend, based on Google Finance and the latest share count.
| Buyback arithmetic | At 2,322p | At 4,030p 52-week high |
|---|---|---|
| Shares per £100 mln | 4.31 mln | 2.48 mln |
| Share-count move vs 1.755 bln | 0.25% | 0.14% |
| More shares at current price | 1.83 mln | — |
RELX’s most recent week of buybacks shows the pace picking up. The company bought 3.01 million shares from June 22 to June 26 through ABN AMRO, paying a weighted average of roughly 2,354p each. Post-settlement, RELX had 73.30 million treasury shares and 1.755 billion shares outstanding, not counting treasury. Since Jan. 2, it has bought 69.19 million shares.
Shares now trade about 1.4% under the average price of the late-June buyback. The gap is tight, but important since RELX is in the market every day. A cheaper stock price boosts the repurchase impact per share. The market is still discounting data and analytics stocks touched by low-cost generative AI tools.
Back in February, Reuters said new AI research tool launches were weighing on data analytics and software stocks, with investors uneasy about the outlook for user-driven professional info models. RELX was among the names hit in that pullback.
RELX hasn’t reported any hit to earnings so far. The company posted a 7% rise in 2025 revenue on an underlying basis to £9.59 billion. Adjusted operating profit rose 9% to £3.34 billion, and adjusted earnings per share climbed 10% at constant currency to 128.5p. CEO Erik Engstrom said RELX had “strong underlying revenue and profit growth” and called AI “a key driver” for the business for over a decade. Relx
Morningstar analyst Rob Hales said in May that RELX gives returns to shareholders with dividends and steady buybacks, calling the buybacks “regular, not opportunistic”. He also said buybacks probably wouldn’t move the valuation much if done close to fair value. That idea is being tested now, as the stock trades well under its 4,030p 52-week high, Google Finance data shows. Morningstar
With shares at 2,322p and 1.755 billion outstanding, RELX’s market cap comes to around £40.8 billion. A buyback of £2.25 billion would amount to roughly 5.5% of that market value at current prices, before the effect of any stock grants or possible new shares.
The big test comes on July 23, when RELX posts its numbers for the half-year ended June 30. The focus will be on growth in legal, risk, and scientific data products. If that holds up, the buyback will look like support. If not, it could look more like defence.
