London, Feb 26, 2026, 08:23 GMT — Regular session
- RELX shares ease in early London trade after a 6.3% jump a day earlier
- Company disclosed two fresh rounds of share repurchases via UBS
- Investors eye the buyback pace and RELX’s next scheduled update and dividend dates
RELX (REL.L) shares were down 0.6% at 2,401 pence in early London trade on Thursday, after swinging between 2,385p and 2,434p. The stock is down about 37% over the past year. (Investing.com Australia)
The stop-start trading matters because RELX has become a read-through on whether information and workflow groups can defend their turf as generative AI spreads into professional tasks. Buybacks have put a bid under the stock, but the market still flinches on anything that hints at weaker pricing power.
RELX, which sells analytics and decision tools to customers including lawyers, bankers and scientists, has argued that its own AI rollout can widen its moat. Chief Financial Officer Nick Luff told Reuters: “Then we’re applying our algorithms, proprietary algorithms, so that we can get out the right judgments, the right inferences, and the right interpretations,” pointing to RELX’s data and models as differentiators. (Reuters)
On Wednesday, RELX jumped 6.25% to close at 24.15 pounds, outperforming a 1.18% rise in the FTSE 100, according to MarketWatch data. (MarketWatch)
The buyback tape has stayed busy. RELX said it bought 300,000 shares on Wednesday through UBS, paying between 2,322p and 2,431p, and said it has repurchased 19.23 million shares since Jan. 2. (TradingView)
A day earlier, the company reported it bought 350,000 shares via UBS at prices ranging from 2,205p to 2,315p. (Halifax Investments)
A U.S. SEC filing showed RELX is running an “irrevocable, non-discretionary” programme to buy back shares between Feb. 12 and March 20, with £450 million earmarked for that period. It also said UBS will make trading decisions under the programme independently of the company.
In its Feb. 12 annual results statement, RELX reported 2025 revenue of £9.59 billion and adjusted operating profit of £3.34 billion, and flagged another year of growth in 2026. Chief executive Erik Engstrom said: “RELX delivered strong underlying revenue and profit growth and strong new sales in 2025”. (Relx)
But the downside case hasn’t gone away. If AI assistants make it cheaper for customers to draft, search or summarise without premium databases, renewals and pricing could come under pressure, and a buyback does not fix a demand problem.
Next up, investors have a set of dates to circle: RELX’s annual general meeting and trading update are scheduled for April 23, followed by the May 7 ex-dividend date for the 2025 final dividend and June 18 payment date. (Relx)
