LONDON, March 12, 2026, 15:01 GMT
London Stock Exchange Group shares rose about 3% in afternoon trade on Thursday after the group’s annual report put Chief Executive David Schwimmer’s 2025 pay at 6.4 million pounds. The stock changed hands around 8,676 pence, standing out on a softer London market where the FTSE 100 was down 0.5%. 1
The disclosure lands at a touchy time for LSEG. Schwimmer is still trying to win back investors after an AI-driven selloff and pressure from Elliott Management, and the stock has lagged exchange peers over the past year. LSEG is down 22.6% on that measure, against a 5.5% fall for Intercontinental Exchange, an 8.35% drop for Deutsche Boerse and an 11.23% gain for Euronext. 2
The 2025 pay figure compares with 7.864 million pounds in 2024, LSEG’s previous annual report showed. Financial News reported on Thursday, citing the new report, that the package was worth 68% of the maximum on offer and that the shareholder-return leg – stock performance against peers – paid out at zero. 3
LSEG has tried to yank attention back to the business itself. “We have achieved another year of very strong financial performance,” Schwimmer said with the February results, adding that the group’s AI-ready data push was showing “very positive signs of adoption.” 4
The company said underlying income excluding recoveries rose 7.1% in 2025, adjusted EBITDA climbed 11.8% and adjusted earnings per share hit 420.6 pence. It also set out another 3 billion pounds of buybacks by February 2027 and guided for 2026 margin expansion of 80 to 100 basis points, or 0.8 to 1.0 percentage point. 4
Schwimmer has also rejected the idea that AI can simply scrape LSEG out of the value chain. He told journalists on Feb. 26 it was “verging on impossible” for AI models to recreate the group’s proprietary datasets and said more AI partnerships were expected this year and beyond. 5
But investors still want proof. Reuters reported last month that Elliott wanted higher margins, a clearer account of what the Microsoft partnership is delivering and a firmer answer to fears that LSEG’s data products could be commoditised by AI. Some shareholders also warned that big asset sales might offer a quick lift but weaken the longer-term case. 2
The analyst community remains more upbeat than the share price suggests. MarketScreener showed 17 analysts carrying a buy consensus on LSEG and an average target price of 122.32 pounds, about 45% above Wednesday’s close of 84.24 pounds. 1
