London, March 13, 2026, 16:20 GMT
RELX shares edged lower late Friday in London, with the British data and analytics group announcing yet another share repurchase. Still, investors kept their eyes on the bigger question: can buybacks really counteract the ongoing worries over AI-driven disruption? Shares last changed hands at around 2,569 pence, down about 0.7% on the day. 1
Why does this matter? RELX is still dealing with shaken confidence after a steep drop in February, fueled by worries that new AI tools might eat into demand for its legal, scientific, and risk-information services. Shares have bounced since touching a 1,991-pence low, but they’re nowhere close to the 52-week peak of 4,183 pence. 2
RELX disclosed late Thursday that it snapped up 476,272 shares via UBS AG London Branch, paying a volume-weighted average of 2,605.7565 pence. The company will hang onto the stock, not return it to the market. That brings total buybacks since Jan. 2 to 24.7 million shares. 3
The purchase falls under a £450 million broker-led buyback window running Feb. 12 through March 20, following a £250 million segment that wrapped up Feb. 6. RELX describes this program as a slice of its larger £2.25 billion buyback set for 2026. 4
Management keeps touting its capital-return angle, but insists growth isn’t slowing. RELX posted a 9% bump in adjusted operating profit for 2025, landing at 3.34 billion pounds on 9.59 billion pounds in revenue. The full-year dividend moves up to 67.5 pence per share. 2
RELX’s CFO Nick Luff, speaking to Reuters, said the company’s ever-refreshing data and proprietary algorithms are central to giving professionals what they need: “the right judgments, the right inferences, and the right interpretations” when high-stakes choices are on the line. 2
Some on Wall Street are holding their ground. BofA’s David Amira bumped his RELX price target to $47.20 from $46 this week, pointing to fourth-quarter numbers that, in his words, showed “little/no discernible impact” from the AI concerns dogging the group. Morningstar’s Rob Hales, for his part, described RELX, Thomson Reuters and Wolters Kluwer as still “undervalued, reflecting heavy pessimism about the sector.” 5
But the bigger hurdle remains for the market. In February, RELX, Wolters Kluwer, and Thomson Reuters all took a hit after Anthropic rolled out a new Claude plugin. Investors are still trying to figure out if rapid AI uptake might squeeze pricing or erode customer loyalty before RELX manages to ramp up its own AI-driven revenues. 2
RELX, in its March investor presentation, pointed to ongoing positive momentum across the group and projected yet another year of solid underlying growth. But judging by Friday’s trading, investors seem to be holding out for firmer evidence. 6
