LONDON, March 17, 2026, 19:44 GMT
Informa Plc slipped 0.21% to finish at 759.2 pence on Tuesday, trailing the FTSE 100’s 0.83% climb, as the market mulled new buybacks but kept an eye on potential Middle East turmoil disrupting the company’s 2026 event schedule. 1
That move is drawing notice right now: Informa last week stuck to its 2026 targets and pushed its share buyback up to 250 million pounds, despite announcing it was rescheduling over 10 Middle East brands for later in the year. The tone in markets has darkened, oil climbing above $100 a barrel, and prospects for rate cuts slipping as the war grinds on. 2
Visibility is Informa’s main argument. The company says it’s already locked in over 2 billion pounds—45% of its 2026 revenue goal—through payments, bookings, or firm commitments. About 40% of its revenue from India, the Middle East and Africa is either from already-completed trades or from markets that are still running as usual. Informa is sticking to its forecast of roughly 6% revenue growth this year, measured like-for-like, with live events expected to climb at least 7%. 3
2025 delivered robust results. Revenue jumped 13.7% to 4.04 billion pounds, while adjusted operating profit—excluding one-offs and non-cash items—rose 14.6% to 1.14 billion pounds. Free cash flow reached a record 884.8 million pounds. “Outstanding performance in 2025,” chief executive Stephen Carter said. 3
Informa snapped up 1.538 million shares for cancellation during the week starting March 9, according to a Monday filing. On the analyst call, Carter took a more assertive line: “We’re in the share buyback market, who wouldn’t be at these prices?” Just last week, the company bumped its 2026 buyback target to 250 million pounds from the earlier 200 million. 4
The market still isn’t convinced by that line of defence. Informa has pushed further into India, the Middle East and Africa, making those regions central to its growth plans. January saw the company wrap up its inD venture with Dubai World Trade Centre, merging its IMEA live-events unit with DWTC’s Dubai business. Tuesday’s weaker showing highlighted that exposure. 3
The downside scenario hasn’t gone away. Carter flagged to analysts that “some fixed costs that we’ll have to swallow” will come with shifting events already underway, but insisted this won’t have a material impact on the group’s standing. Should disruption continue into September or October, though, both attendance and participation get a lot harder to predict. 5
Informa TechTarget, the digital-services division, has become another area to watch. The company reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £64.3 million for 2025, hit by a hefty non-cash impairment related to this unit. Management is adamant: 2026 needs to mark a return to positive growth. 3
Shares in peer Springer Nature surged 12.8% on Tuesday, lifted by an upbeat outlook for 2026 that topped expectations. That kind of clarity is getting the nod from investors, even as Informa’s tilt toward live events means geopolitics remain a more immediate concern. 6
The share price isn’t offering much optimism. Informa finished the day at 759.2p—well under the 834p average it reported paying for buybacks so far this year, up to March 12. Now, investors want to see evidence that higher forward bookings and a bigger buyback program will be enough to offset delays tied to conflicts. 1
