London, Feb 24, 2026, 08:40 GMT — Regular session
- LSEG shares fell about 1.5% in early London trade
- Focus turns to the group’s FY 2025 preliminary results due on Thursday
- AI-driven valuation worries and activist pressure remain a backdrop
Shares in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) were down 1.5% at 7,592 pence by 0839 GMT, extending a weak start to the week for the market data and exchange operator. The stock traded between 7,590 and 7,696 pence in the session so far. (Google)
The timing matters. LSEG is due to host its FY 2025 preliminary results webcast on Thursday at 10:00 UK time, with chief executive David Schwimmer and chief financial officer Michel-Alain Proch set to present. (LSEG)
LSEG fell 2.5% on Monday to 77.06 pounds, lagging the FTSE 100’s flat close, MarketWatch data showed. The stock ended the session about 35% below its 52-week high, the same data showed. (MarketWatch)
Broader mood has not helped. A fresh AI-linked selloff on Wall Street has unsettled investors again, with uncertainty also tied to U.S. tariff policy and wider geopolitical tensions, a Reuters global markets wrapup said. (Reuters)
AI anxiety has been doing the rounds across software and data names for weeks, and it flared up again on Monday in U.S. cybersecurity stocks after Anthropic launched a new tool. “What you’re seeing today is really the continuation of a panic-driven, narrative-led selloff,” said Shrenik Kothari, a security and infrastructure analyst at Robert W. Baird. (Reuters)
For LSEG, the AI question has collided with activist scrutiny. Elliott Management has built a stake and is engaging with the group, Reuters reported earlier this month, as investors pressed for steps to lift performance and margins. “LSEG maintains an active and open dialogue with our investors, while remaining focused on executing our strategy,” an LSEG spokesperson said, while Goldman Sachs analysts noted that only about 6% of group revenues were at risk from AI-powered tools for analysis. (Reuters)
The group has also been trying to show it can grow into new market plumbing. LSEG said it plans to build an “on-chain” settlement service — meaning trading and settlement recorded across blockchain networks — for tokenised assets, while staying interoperable with existing systems. “As tokenisation continues to mature, interoperability between traditional and digital market infrastructure will be critical,” said Angus Fletcher, global head of digital solutions at State Street. (Reuters)
On the exchange side, London is also pushing into private markets. The London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market is set to host its first deal in the coming weeks under the UK regulator’s PISCES framework — a system designed for periodic auctions in private company shares — Reuters reported on Feb. 20; rival Nasdaq has long run a private market segment. “We are delighted that the first transaction will take place on our Private Securities Market in the coming weeks,” LSE CEO Dame Julia Hoggett said. (Reuters)
Investors heading into Thursday will be listening for hard numbers, but also tone: whether LSEG can keep data-and-analytics growth steady, defend pricing, and show progress on margins. Any hint of a bigger capital return or portfolio reshuffle will get attention given the activist backdrop.
But the risk cuts both ways. If the results or outlook disappoint, the stock may stay pinned to the wider “AI disruption” trade, where valuations can move fast on headlines rather than fundamentals.
Next up is Thursday’s preliminary results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, followed later in the diary by the group’s Q1 trading statement and annual general meeting on April 23, its financial calendar shows. (LSEG)
