RELX PLC (LSE: REL) reported full-year results for the year ended 31 December 2025, delivering 7 percent underlying revenue growth, 9 percent underlying adjusted operating profit growth, and 10 percent adjusted earnings per share growth at constant currency. The results underline continued execution of the group’s analytics-first strategy, with margin expansion across all four divisions and capital returns accelerating without stretching leverage. For investors and competitors alike, FY2025 reinforces RELX PLC’s position as a compounding information infrastructure business rather than a cyclical publisher.
How RELX PLC’s FY2025 results confirm that analytics-led growth is now structurally embedded across the group
RELX PLC generated reported revenue of £9.59 billion in 2025, with underlying growth of 7 percent despite currency headwinds and deliberate runoff in print-related activities. More important than top-line growth was the quality of that revenue. Adjusted operating profit rose to £3.34 billion, expanding the adjusted operating margin to 34.8 percent, a 90 basis point improvement year on year.
This margin expansion was not driven by one-off cost actions or portfolio exits. Management continued to hold cost growth below revenue growth across every operating division, reinforcing a model where incremental analytics revenue scales profitably. The shift away from print is now largely complete, with print-related revenue down sharply to £399 million, removing a long-standing drag on group economics while improving reporting transparency.
Adjusted earnings per share increased to 128.5 pence, supported by both operating leverage and an aggressive share repurchase programme. Cash flow conversion reached 99 percent, allowing RELX PLC to fund dividends, acquisitions, and £1.5 billion of buybacks while ending the year at a conservative 2.0x net debt to EBITDA.
Why the Risk division remains the earnings engine and strategic anchor of RELX PLC
The Risk division again set the pace for the group, delivering underlying revenue growth of 8 percent and underlying adjusted operating profit growth of 10 percent. More than 90 percent of divisional revenue now comes from machine-to-machine interactions, underscoring how deeply embedded RELX PLC’s analytics are in customer workflows.
Growth was driven by Financial Crime Compliance, Fraud and Identity, insurance analytics, and specialised industry data. Management highlighted continued expansion of proprietary data assets and global fraud infrastructure, reinforcing competitive barriers that are difficult to replicate. Importantly, this growth is not dependent on headline generative AI features but on long-standing extractive and predictive analytics capabilities refined over more than a decade.
From a strategic standpoint, Risk now functions as both a profit engine and a proof point. It demonstrates how RELX PLC can monetise data, analytics, and AI at scale while maintaining pricing power and margin discipline. That track record increasingly informs investor confidence in the group’s newer AI-led initiatives in Legal and Scientific, Technical and Medical.
What accelerating Legal growth signals about AI monetisation and competitive positioning
Legal delivered underlying revenue growth of 9 percent and underlying adjusted operating profit growth of 12 percent, marking another step-up from prior years. Management attributed this acceleration to adoption of AI-enabled legal research, analytics, and content-centric workflows built on verified legal data.
Enterprise-wide subscriptions for Lexis+ AI more than doubled during the year, with usage growing even faster. Management was explicit that differentiation comes from trusted, curated content rather than generic workflow software. RELX PLC positions its legal AI tools as content-enabled productivity layers rather than standalone workflow platforms, reducing direct competition with horizontal software vendors.
This distinction matters strategically. By embedding AI directly into core content platforms and maintaining interoperability with third-party workflow tools, RELX PLC expands its addressable value pool without diluting focus or margin structure. The Legal division now shows clear signs of sustained operating leverage, reinforcing confidence that recent growth is not a one-cycle spike.
How Scientific, Technical and Medical performance reflects a slower but durable AI adoption curve
Scientific, Technical and Medical delivered underlying revenue growth of 5 percent and underlying adjusted operating profit growth of 7 percent. While slower than Risk and Legal, momentum improved through the year, supported by analytics tools, rising research submissions, and early adoption of AI-enabled researcher platforms.
Article submissions increased by more than 20 percent in 2025, with published articles up 10 percent, confirming that global research intensity remains structurally strong. New platforms such as LeapSpace were positioned as long-term productivity enablers rather than near-term revenue accelerants. Management emphasised that institutional buying cycles in academia remain slower, but feedback on value delivered has been positive.
For investors, STM’s importance lies in durability rather than speed. As analytics penetration increases and pricing models evolve, STM offers a long runway for incremental monetisation layered on top of an already resilient publishing base.
Why Exhibitions margin expansion changes how the market should view the division
Exhibitions delivered underlying revenue growth of 8 percent despite reported revenue declines linked to event cycling and prior disposals. Underlying adjusted operating profit grew 9 percent, with margins expanding to 34.6 percent, well above historical levels.
Management credited disciplined cost control and digital tools that enhance exhibitor and attendee engagement. The result is a structurally more profitable exhibitions portfolio that behaves less like a cyclical events business and more like a scalable platform with recurring digital economics.
This matters for valuation. Exhibitions is no longer simply a recovery story but a margin contributor that supports group-level earnings stability through cycles.
How capital allocation discipline underpins RELX PLC’s compounding narrative
RELX PLC completed five acquisitions in 2025 for total consideration of £270 million, remaining selective and well below its long-term average acquisition spend. Organic investment remained the top priority, with capital expenditure at approximately 5.5 percent of revenue, largely directed toward product development.
Shareholder returns accelerated meaningfully. The group completed £1.5 billion of share buybacks in 2025 and announced a further £2.25 billion programme for 2026, while increasing the full-year dividend by 7 percent to 67.5 pence per share. Importantly, these returns were funded without balance-sheet strain, with leverage ending the year at the lower end of management’s target range.
This balance of reinvestment, selective M&A, dividends, and buybacks reinforces RELX PLC’s positioning as a disciplined compounder rather than a growth-at-all-costs AI story.
What FY2025 investor sentiment suggests about RELX PLC’s equity positioning
Market sentiment around RELX PLC has increasingly reflected confidence in earnings quality rather than short-term growth volatility. The combination of recurring analytics revenue, expanding margins, and predictable capital returns aligns well with institutional preferences for defensive growth in uncertain macro environments.
While broader equity markets remain sensitive to AI-related hype cycles, RELX PLC’s results anchor its AI narrative firmly in cash flow and operating metrics. The stock’s appeal lies less in optionality and more in execution consistency, which continues to differentiate it from both traditional publishers and pure-play software vendors.
What RELX PLC’s FY2025 results mean for investors, competitors, and the information analytics industry
- RELX PLC demonstrated that analytics-led growth is now structurally embedded, not cyclical.
- Margin expansion across all divisions confirms operating leverage is sustainable.
- The Risk division remains the earnings anchor and strategic proof point for AI monetisation.
- Legal’s accelerating growth signals that content-centric AI can scale without margin dilution.
- STM offers a slower but durable monetisation runway tied to global research intensity.
- Exhibitions has evolved into a higher-margin platform rather than a pure events business.
- Capital allocation remains disciplined, balancing reinvestment with rising shareholder returns.
- Buybacks and dividends are accelerating without increasing balance-sheet risk.
- Investor confidence is anchored in earnings quality rather than speculative AI narratives.
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