Relx Plc (RELX)

RELX said on 22 October 2026 that its underlying revenue grew 7 percent in the first nine months of the year 2.

Underlying growth leaves out currency moves, acquisitions, disposals, print and event timing, so it shows how the existing businesses did 2.

By business, Legal grew 10 percent, Risk 8 percent, Scientific, Technical & Medical 6 percent and Exhibitions 4 percent 2.

The company said Middle East disruption held Exhibitions back, and it expects another year of strong underlying growth in revenue and adjusted operating profit 2.

In the first half, revenue was £4,871 million and adjusted operating profit, which leaves out some deal-related costs, was £1,727 million 4.

The company also began a £125 million programme to repurchase its own shares, running from 22 October to 2 December 2026, part of £2.25 billion planned for 2026 3.

The open question is how far its AI-based products, such as the LeapSpace research workspace, lift growth further 2.

Chief executive Erik Engstrom called AI a key driver of customer value and growth in the half-year release 4.

Its two roots are British and Dutch 5. Albert E Reed began making newsprint at Tovil Mill in Kent in 1895, and Jacobus George Robbers started the Dutch publisher Elsevier in 1880 5.

Reed merged with the International Publishing Corporation in 1970 and bought the American trade publisher Cahners in 1977 5. In 1985 it chose to focus on publishing and sold its other interests 5. Elsevier bought Pergamon Press in 1991 5.

The two joined in 1993 5. The combined company bought the online information service LexisNexis for $1.5 billion in 1994 and the legal publisher Matthew Bender for $1.65 billion in 1998 5.

It then bought data businesses 5. Seisint came in 2004, and ChoicePoint followed in 2008 for $4.1 billion 5. In 2007 it announced the sale of Harcourt, its schools publishing division 5.

It then shrank print 5. Between 2006 and 2019 it sold about 300 print business magazine titles in 65 deals, cutting print's share of revenue from 51 percent to 9 percent 5.

The company took the name RELX in February 2015 5. In 2015 one jointly controlled company, RELX Group plc, came to own all the businesses, and in 2018 the Dutch parent merged into RELX PLC to leave a single parent 1.

Later deals aimed at risk data 5. ThreatMetrix, a network of online digital identities, cost £580 million in 2018, and ID Analytics and Emailage cost $375 million and $480 million in 2020 5.

Revenue was £7,874 million in 2019 and £7,110 million in 2020, then £9,590 million in 2025 5.

Over 25 years, print's share of revenue fell from 64 percent to 4 percent, and the company calls the move from print to electronic largely complete 1.

In 2025 revenue was £9,590 million, up from £9,434 million in 2024 1.

Legal grew 9 percent on an underlying basis and Risk 8 percent, which the company ties to its AI-enabled tools 1.

Exhibitions revenue fell 4 percent as reported because of earlier disposals and the timing of events, yet grew 8 percent underlying 1.

Risk

Risk sells data and analytics that help customers evaluate and predict risk 1. Its parts are Business Services, Insurance, Specialised Industry Data Services and Government 4.

Business Services is led by financial crime compliance and digital fraud and identity products 1. Insurance grows on contributory databases, where customers pool data, and market specific solutions 1.

Risk brought in £3,485 million in 2025, 36 percent of group revenue, and its underlying growth was 8 percent 1.

Scientific, Technical and Medical

This business operates as Elsevier and combines trusted scientific and medical information with technology 15. Its databases include ScienceDirect and Scopus, and its best-known titles are The Lancet and Cell 5.

It earned £2,714 million in 2025, 28 percent of the group, with underlying growth of 5 percent 1.

Growth comes from AI-enabled tools such as Scopus AI and Sherpath AI, and from article submissions to its journals, which are growing very strongly 1. The company also launched LeapSpace, a research-grade AI workspace 2.

Legal

Legal works under the LexisNexis name and provides tools that combine legal, regulatory and business information with analytics 15. Its core platform is Lexis+ with an agentic assistant called Protégé 4.

Legal earned £1,806 million in 2025, 19 percent of the group, and grew 9 percent underlying 1. The company reported 10 percent underlying growth in the first half of 2026 4.

Exhibitions and print

Exhibitions runs trade events under the RX name that help customers meet, find new markets and source products 15. It earned £1,186 million in 2025, 13 percent of the group 1.

Print and print-related activities are now reported apart from the four business areas and earned £399 million, 4 percent of revenue 1. In the first half of 2026 print revenue was £157 million, against £189 million a year earlier 4.

People, places and problems

Erik Engstrom is chief executive and Nick Luff is chief financial officer 1. RELX employs more than 37,000 people, around 40 percent of them in North America, and serves customers in more than 180 countries and territories 1.

It owns or leases about 156 properties, and its one owned principal site is a 406,000 square foot office and data centre in Alpharetta, Georgia 1.

The company says its US subsidiaries have faced regulatory actions and lawsuits over privacy and data protection, which it does not expect to have a material adverse effect 1. It also names AI-driven change and new competitors among the risks to demand for its products 1.

The umbrella, in words

RELX PLC owns 100 percent of RELX Group plc, which owns all the operating businesses, subsidiaries and financing activities 1. The 20-F refers to Exhibit 8 for the list of subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures 1.

The main brands are Elsevier for science and health, LexisNexis for legal work, LexisNexis Risk Solutions for risk data and RX for events 5.

RELX invested £42 million in venture capital holdings in 2025 and paid £260 million for acquisitions that year, including deferred payments on earlier deals 1.

Neither large holder has special votes 1. BlackRock notified RELX of an interest of 9.67 percent of the voting rights and Invesco of 4.99 percent, and major holders have no different voting rights 1.

The company expects another year of strong underlying growth in revenue and adjusted operating profit, and strong growth in adjusted earnings per share at constant currency 2.

For Exhibitions it expects strong underlying revenue growth, leaving out the Middle East impact, and a better adjusted operating margin than the year before 2.

It expects adjusted operating profit to grow faster than revenue in Risk, in Scientific, Technical & Medical and in Legal 2.

RELX plans to deploy £2.25 billion on share buybacks in 2026 4. Of that, £1,750 million was completed in the first half and £100 million since 1 July, and the company said the remaining £400 million is to be deployed before the end of the year 4.

Shareholders authorised repurchases of up to 140.3 million ordinary shares at the annual meeting on 23 April 2026 3.

RELX declared an interim dividend of 20.9 pence, up 7 percent, and its policy is to grow dividends broadly in line with adjusted earnings per share 41.

Engstrom said AI lets RELX launch higher value products faster and keep cost growth below revenue growth 4.