London, March 4, 2026, 07:56 GMT — Premarket
- RELX ended the session 0.8% higher, finishing at 2,596p.
- The group reported new share repurchases with its ongoing buyback programme still underway.
- LexisNexis’ legal chief says the latest AI models have put the business “in a better position”.
RELX (REL.L) ended Tuesday’s trading at 2,596 pence, up 0.8%. Investors have been moving the stock on news tied to artificial intelligence’s impact on legal and data service sectors. 1
The company’s £450 million share buyback, underway from Feb. 12 through March 20, slots into a larger £2.25 billion buyback allocation for 2026, according to its regulatory statement.
The story with RELX has shifted; it’s not just an earnings play now. LexisNexis is leaning into AI, not backing off. “Every time we see a new model, every time we see a step forward, we’re actually in a better position,” Sean Fitzpatrick, a LexisNexis exec, told Business Insider. He argued their proprietary content “cannot be replicated” and cited a database holding some 200 billion legal documents, with around 4 million new ones added each day. 2
RELX, in a late Tuesday filing, reported snapping up 500,000 shares on March 3, paying between 2,544p and 2,603p apiece, with the volume-weighted average landing at 2,562.3074p. A day earlier, they picked up another 500,000 shares at an average of 2,567.2031p. VWAP, for the record, reflects the average trade price, weighted by transaction size. 3
On March 2, RELX told investors it now counts 1,804,927,533 voting rights in total, reflecting 23,337,957 treasury shares taken out of the calculation. That figure is crucial for anyone working out if they need to flag changes in their stake under UK disclosure rules. 4
RELX has dealt with skepticism around AI before, but lately the criticism has sharpened as its shares have tracked the ups and downs of legal-tech news. On Feb. 12, the company stuck to its AI message, telling investors that products with built-in AI should fuel growth “many years to come.” Finance chief Nick Luff emphasized RELX’s use of proprietary data and algorithms to “get out the right judgments” for its professional base. The stock’s early February slide didn’t spare rivals Wolters Kluwer and Thomson Reuters, who were swept up in the pullback, according to Reuters. 5
London defensives with reliable cash flow aren’t seeing much impact from rates at the moment. The Bank of England puts Bank Rate at 3.75% for now, and its next decision lands March 19. 6
Buybacks aside, investors are still circling the same issue—AI agents could either siphon routine legal work from subscription research platforms or, just as easily, drive customers to use them more. If renewal rates or pricing start to wobble, even a skinny headline could knock the stock down in a hurry.
Traders are on alert for fresh buyback news and signals from competing legal and data outfits as London trading kicks off. The mood among investors can turn sharply if a new partnership or tool shakes up the legal AI race.
RELX is set for its annual general meeting on April 23, with a trading update for the 2026 financial year also due that day. 7
