London, April 22, 2026, 16:15 BST
- RELX slipped in London trading Wednesday, pulling back after Tuesday’s jump.
- The company plans to release a 2026 trading update Thursday, with its annual general meeting set for the same day.
- AI rivalry, a £2.25 billion buyback, and shareholder votes on pay and dividends are all grabbing investors’ attention.
Shares of RELX PLC slipped Wednesday, with the market eyeing Thursday’s trading update and annual general meeting—a key moment for a stock facing lingering anxiety over AI’s potential to shake up its professional data segment. By 16:15 BST, RELX was trading at 2,736 pence in London, off roughly 1.5% from the last close at 2,779 pence.
Timing is key here. RELX, the provider of legal, scientific, risk and exhibitions data, is set to deliver its first scheduled trading update since reporting full-year numbers in February. Shareholders are on deck to vote on executive pay, the final dividend, and fresh buyback authorization. According to the company’s financial calendar, both the AGM and the 2026 trading update fall on April 23.
RELX shares have had a turbulent run lately. On Tuesday, the stock gained 2.7%—a rare bright spot, with the FTSE 100 dropping 1.05%. Still, RELX remains far off its 52-week peak of 4,183 pence, market data shows.
RELX has worked to position AI as a feature baked into its offerings, rather than painting it as an outside risk. Back in February, the company posted 2025 revenue of 9.59 billion pounds, marking a 7% lift on an underlying basis—excluding shifts from FX and portfolio moves—and saw adjusted operating profit climb 9% to 3.34 billion pounds. The group flagged plans for 2.25 billion pounds in share buybacks in 2026, following 1.5 billion pounds earmarked for 2025.
RELX’s buyback is making its way across the market. According to a London Stock Exchange filing, the company picked up 2,127,918 shares via J.P. Morgan Securities between April 13 and 17. Back in March, RELX unveiled a 350 million-pound non-discretionary program, scheduled from March 23 through April 22.
On Thursday, shareholders are set to vote on a proposed final 2025 dividend of 48.0 pence per ordinary share, bringing the total payout for the year to 67.5 pence. According to the AGM notice, the directors’ pay policy is up for its scheduled three-year shareholder review. RELX said it consulted with investors controlling roughly 55% of its issued share capital regarding the suggested changes to the policy.
RELX CEO Erik Engstrom, speaking in February, pointed to the company’s long-term momentum coming from its move into analytics and decision tools with faster growth potential. He described AI as a “key driver of customer value and growth” for RELX, a position he said would continue. Relx
Nick Luff, the finance chief, told Reuters that RELX’s constantly refreshed data and content—combined with its own algorithms—puts the company ahead in the world of professional decision-making. According to Reuters, RELX has rolled out or announced 13 generative AI-driven products so far, with names like Lexis+ and the legal assistant Protege on that list.
There’s a risk investors don’t get what they’re looking for. Any sign of weaker momentum in Thursday’s update could shake things up, and some will be watching closely to see if buybacks are shouldering too much of the return story. Management also faces pressure to address ongoing concerns over AI encroaching on legal and data services. Those fears rattled RELX, Wolters Kluwer, and Thomson Reuters after Anthropic rolled out its legal-centric AI tool earlier this year.
RELX lays out a wide range of risks in its standard disclosures. In its results release, the company flagged possible impacts from data regulations, shifts in intellectual-property rules, competitive pressures, cyber threats, deal execution, and market swings. Most of that is standard legal wording, yet investors are focusing on the competition angle for the moment.
Thursday’s update won’t end the AI debate. What it does offer: a clearer sense of whether RELX’s legal, scientific, and risk analytics units are still turning their data troves into pricing muscle and profit gains. That’s the heart of the bull thesis for a stock that, just months ago, was a market darling but now finds itself in the middle of a fight.
