London, May 9, 2026, 16:13 (BST)
London Stock Exchange Group plc shares sat unchanged Saturday, with the market closed, after a 1.61% drop to £90.38 on Friday. That decline underperformed the FTSE 100’s 0.43% slip. Trading volume reached 1.1 million shares—roughly half the 50-day average, according to MarketWatch data.
The decline is significant, eroding gains that followed LSEG’s record-setting first-quarter results and a substantial share buyback commitment. According to AJ Bell, the shares remain far off the 11,810 pence high for the year, leaving the market cap hovering around £44.45 billion at Friday’s close.
The news comes as investors weigh a simpler challenge: can LSEG actually convert ongoing appetite for data and trading infrastructure into more reliable growth, especially with artificial intelligence shifting how clients source information. Last month, Reuters noted that activist investor Elliott Management had been putting pressure on LSEG, with concerns swirling that AI might threaten its data segment. Will Howlett, financials analyst at Quilter Cheviot, pointed to the first-quarter outperformance and upbeat outlook, saying that should “help ease concerns around the durability of growth.” Reuters
LSEG reported a 9.8% jump in first-quarter total income excluding recoveries, measured organically and at constant currency—a figure that leaves out both FX noise and acquisitions. Markets revenue posted a 15.5% gain, while Data & Analytics increased 5.1%. FTSE Russell advanced 8.8%. Looking ahead, the company expects 2026 income growth to hit the upper end of its 6.5% to 7.5% target.
CEO David Schwimmer told analysts that revenue climbed nearly 10%—the fastest pace since LSEG acquired Refinitiv five years back. Schwimmer added that the company took advantage of the dip in its share price, snapping up £1.1 billion in stock repurchases during the first quarter. Over the next year, LSEG expects to return more than £3 billion to shareholders, factoring in both buybacks and dividends.
AI has been roped directly into that equity narrative. LSEG announced earlier this week that it’s bringing its licensed data and analytics to Amazon Quick via its Model Context Protocol server—a software bridge that hooks AI platforms up to external data. “Scale AI adoption with confidence,” said Emily Prince, the group’s head of enterprise AI, describing what the deal offers financial clients. LSEG
Still, risk lingers. Max Harper, senior analyst at Third Bridge, pointed to market worries over “income compression” as clients potentially move away from per-user licenses and toward usage-based AI revenue. LSEG, Bloomberg, S&P Global, and FactSet are all making moves to fit into a more AI-focused market-data landscape, he said. AJ Bell
Hargreaves Lansdown senior equity analyst Matt Britzman pointed out that LSEG controls valuable, regulated datasets and market plumbing—assets AI models require but can’t simply replicate. Despite that, he highlighted pricing as something to watch, especially with wider adoption of AI interfaces and agents.
The bigger challenge? Not only counting how many clients are using LSEG’s AI channels, but figuring out the payment side. Schwimmer told analysts the group is still working through commercial terms for MCP distribution. Expect more detail—a framework—when first-half results land.
Friday’s drop boils things down: support’s there from the buyback, and Q1 numbers looked solid. Still, investors are holding out for evidence—LSEG’s data franchise needs to show it can hold onto pricing power, especially as more financial firms shift workflows to AI tools.
