London, May 1, 2026, 15:19 BST
London Stock Exchange Group plc reported Friday that its total voting rights reached 493,222,493 as of the end of April 30, offering investors an updated reference for the ongoing buyback. According to the filing, LSEG’s share capital amounts to 514,674,092 ordinary shares. Of those, 21,451,599 are treasury shares—held by the company and excluded from voting.
Capital returns are now front and center for LSEG’s equity narrative coming out of a bumpy first quarter. Just last week, the company reported repurchasing £1.1 billion in shares during the period, holding to its plan to return £3 billion from its 2025 results up through 2026 results due in February 2027.
The new voting-rights total falls short of the 495,279,915 reported for the April 21 AGM record date. Investors watching earnings per share and buyback activity are back to scrutinizing the share count.
LSEG’s latest operational update landed with more punch than its earlier governance statement. The company posted a 9.8% climb in first-quarter total income excluding recoveries—essentially stripping out those third-party content costs it passes on to clients—on an organic constant-currency basis, which takes out the noise from FX swings and acquisitions. Gross profit jumped 11.5%.
Most of the gains came from Markets, which jumped 15.5% on the back of greater client activity across trading platforms and post-trade services—key tools for handling liquidity and risk after trades go through, LSEG reported. Data & Analytics posted a 5.1% increase; FTSE Russell added 8.8%, while Risk Intelligence climbed 10.5%.
David Schwimmer, the chief executive, called it a “great start to 2026 across the board” for LSEG, highlighting the group’s venues as “critical sources” of liquidity and price discovery. Schwimmer added that pushing adoption of AI-ready data services would be the company’s focus through 2026. LSEG
The AI angle is hardly superficial. Last week, Reuters noted that investors raised concerns about artificial intelligence potentially squeezing LSEG’s data business. Still, the company pointed out that 90 customers had already plugged into its Model Context Protocol server, with another 64 lined up. MCP, a standard for linking AI tools to external data, is at the center of this focus.
Will Howlett, who covers financials at Quilter Cheviot—an LSEG investor—told Reuters the “clear first-quarter beat” and updated guidance should help settle nerves about growth holding up. LSEG now sees its 2026 total income ending up toward the top half of its 6.5%-7.5% guidance band. Reuters
The competitive landscape is getting tougher. On Friday, Cboe Global Markets announced plans to cut 20% of its global staff, aiming to zero in on its main business lines. Volatility has been spurring increased trading at U.S. exchanges, according to Reuters, with firms like Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange seeing the impact. ICE notched record net revenues for the first quarter, hitting $3.0 billion as of April 30.
Nasdaq logged a 14% jump in first-quarter net revenue and handed back $548 million via buybacks. LSEG, following a similar data-driven, market-focused strategy with repurchases, appears to be using a familiar exchange-operator formula here—not breaking the mold.
The concern: Q1 may have just been a one-off boost. LSEG pointed to Markets growth driven by volatility and a pickup in risk management activity. If things settle down and volumes slip, those transaction and clearing fees could shrink fast. The company’s challenge now is to prove AI distribution adds to revenue, and doesn’t just erode pricing clout.
LSEG shareholders signed off on every proposal at the April 23 AGM, handing directors the green light to buy back company shares—99.84% supported the motion. The dividend measure cleared as well. LSEG’s final payout lands May 20 for investors who were on the books as of April 17.
Friday’s filing doesn’t mark a shift in strategy. What it does show: the buyback is trickling into the register—a detail investors are watching, as they weigh LSEG’s progress on share count, AI adoption, and trading revenue tied to volatility to assess the durability of its recovery.
