RELX plc stock (GB00B2B0DG97): steady growth focus after latest trading update

RELX plc, the information and analytics group with listings in London, Amsterdam and New York, recently reported higher revenue and profit for 2024 and followed up with a trading update covering the first four months of 2025, highlighting continued growth in its data?driven and analytics?focused businesses, according to a full?year results release published on 02/15/2025 and a subsequent trading statement dated 04/24/2025 on the company’s website RELX investor relations as of 04/24/2025.

In the 2024 fiscal year, RELX reported increases in revenue, adjusted operating profit and earnings per share compared with 2023, helped by growth in its Risk, Scientific, Technical & Medical and Legal segments, as outlined in the company’s 2024 full?year results announcement dated 02/15/2025 RELX annual results as of 02/15/2025.

As of: 05/20/2026

By the editorial team – specialized in equity coverage.

RELX plc: core business model

RELX plc operates a portfolio of information, analytics and decision?support businesses that serve professional and institutional clients across legal, scientific, risk and event?management markets. The company’s roots lie in traditional publishing, but over recent decades it has shifted toward digital platforms, databases and analytics tools that aim to support critical decisions in regulated and research?intensive environments. This transition has reshaped revenue composition toward recurring digital subscriptions and data?driven services.

The group’s activities are organized into segments that typically include Risk, Scientific, Technical & Medical (often abbreviated as STM), Legal and Exhibitions. Risk offers data and analytics to customers such as insurers, financial firms and corporate clients concerned with compliance, fraud prevention and credit assessment. STM focuses on scientific and medical research content and associated analytics tools, while the Legal business provides information, workflow solutions and decision?support platforms for legal professionals and corporate legal departments.

The Exhibitions segment, meanwhile, organizes trade shows and events across multiple industries and geographies. This business model differs from the largely digital and subscription?driven nature of the other segments, as it relies on physical or hybrid events, exhibitor fees and visitor revenues. The company’s reporting for 2024 noted broad?based growth across most segments, including a continued recovery in Exhibitions after prior pandemic?related disruptions, according to the full?year statement dated 02/15/2025 RELX annual results as of 02/15/2025.

A central theme in RELX’s business model is the integration of proprietary content with sophisticated analytics and increasingly with artificial intelligence tools. The company invests in technology that can search, classify and analyze large bodies of text and data, helping users extract insights, manage risk or improve research efficiency. Its legal and scientific platforms typically offer search, citation and workflow capabilities, while the risk solutions combine public records, proprietary datasets and predictive models to support underwriting or compliance decisions.

From a revenue perspective, RELX has gradually reduced exposure to print formats and transactional revenue in favor of digital subscriptions, multi?year contracts and software?like offerings. Management has highlighted the share of revenues derived from electronic and print formats over time, noting that electronic revenues now make up the majority of the group total, reflecting the broader digital transformation of the business, as referenced in the 2024 annual report released on 03/21/2025 RELX annual report as of 03/21/2025.

Main revenue and product drivers for RELX plc

Risk is often cited as one of RELX’s largest and fastest?growing segments, supplying data and analytics to customers in insurance, financial services and corporate compliance. This business leverages extensive datasets and analytical models to help clients evaluate risk, detect fraud and meet regulatory obligations. The company’s 2024 results indicated that Risk delivered underlying revenue growth above the group average, supported by demand for identity, fraud and compliance solutions, according to the results release dated 02/15/2025 RELX investor relations as of 02/15/2025.

The Scientific, Technical & Medical segment remains a key revenue contributor through journals, databases and analytics platforms that serve academic institutions, corporate R&D departments and healthcare organizations. STM revenues depend heavily on institutional subscriptions and long?term contracts, which can provide visibility, although budgets in academia and healthcare can influence growth rates. RELX has emphasized the expansion of analytics and research intelligence tools that aim to help institutions evaluate research performance, allocate funding or track collaboration networks, adding higher?value services on top of its content base, as described in the 2024 annual report published on 03/21/2025 RELX annual report as of 03/21/2025.

The Legal segment generates revenues from online research platforms, practice management tools and workflow solutions for law firms, courts and corporate legal departments. Historically, this business evolved from law reports and print reference products to digital databases, and more recently toward integrated software?like solutions. Growth drivers include customer migration from legacy products to more advanced platforms and the introduction of new analytics?based features that can help legal professionals assess case law trends, draft documents or manage matters more efficiently. In 2024, the Legal unit reported underlying revenue growth and an increase in adjusted operating profit, according to the company’s full?year results statement dated 02/15/2025 RELX investor relations as of 02/15/2025.

The Exhibitions segment, branded as RX in many markets, derives revenue from trade shows and events in sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, travel and various niche industries. After significant disruption during the COVID?19 pandemic, the 2024 reporting period reflected further normalization of event calendars and attendance levels, contributing to revenue growth and improved profitability compared with earlier years. The shape of this recovery and the mix between physical and hybrid events remain important for this segment’s performance, as highlighted in the 2024 annual report released on 03/21/2025 RELX annual report as of 03/21/2025.

Across segments, RELX has indicated that its investment priorities include artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing and other advanced analytics capabilities that can be embedded into its products. These technologies are designed to increase the value of the company’s proprietary datasets and content. Examples mentioned in company materials include legal analytics tools that can help predict litigation outcomes and research analytics platforms that assist in benchmarking scientific impact, as discussed in the 2024 annual report dated 03/21/2025 RELX annual report as of 03/21/2025.

Recent earnings performance and trading update

In its 2024 full?year results, RELX reported that group revenue increased compared with 2023, driven by underlying growth across all business areas and aided by portfolio development, according to the results release dated 02/15/2025 RELX annual results as of 02/15/2025. Adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share also rose year on year, reflecting both top?line expansion and operating leverage in digitally focused segments.

The company highlighted that electronic and print revenues together made up a substantial majority of total revenue, with electronic revenues forming the dominant share. Management noted continued progress in shifting customers to higher?value, analytics?rich platforms and products, especially in Risk and Legal. The 2024 results also included commentary on portfolio optimization, with the group continuing to invest in areas aligned with data, analytics and decision?support while exiting or de?emphasizing lower?growth or less strategic activities, as outlined in the full?year announcement dated 02/15/2025 RELX investor relations as of 02/15/2025.

Following the release of the 2024 results, RELX issued a trading update on 04/24/2025 covering the first four months of 2025. In this statement, the company reported that trading was in line with management expectations and that underlying growth trends observed in 2024 had continued into the new year. The update pointed to ongoing momentum in the Risk and STM segments, along with further recovery and scheduling normalization in Exhibitions, according to the trading statement published on 04/24/2025 RELX trading update as of 04/24/2025.

Management commentary in the trading update reiterated the group’s focus on organic growth, margin progression and disciplined capital allocation, with an emphasis on technology and AI investment. The company also referred to its approach to shareholder returns, including dividends and share buybacks, while noting that capital deployment would remain balanced between reinvestment in the business and distributions. Details on capital allocation and shareholder returns appeared in both the full?year results presentation and the trading statement released on 02/15/2025 and 04/24/2025 respectively RELX investor relations as of 04/24/2025.

For US investors, a key consideration is the company’s American depositary shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RELX. The US listing provides access to the stock in US dollars and within US trading hours, which can be relevant for portfolio management and liquidity. The company’s cross?border listing structure and reporting schedule mean that earnings and trading updates are typically timed with its primary European markets but are also accessible to US market participants via exchanges and regulatory filings, as indicated by information on the NYSE website and the company’s investor relations pages updated through 2025 NYSE listing overview as of 04/30/2025.

Conclusion

RELX plc remains positioned as a global provider of information, analytics and decision?support tools, with 2024 results and the early?2025 trading update pointing to continued growth in data?centric segments such as Risk, STM and Legal. The company’s strategy emphasizes recurring digital revenues, technology investment and product innovation, while Exhibitions contributes cyclical exposure tied to the events industry. For US investors accessing the stock via the NYSE listing, the group offers exposure to structural trends in data and analytics across legal, scientific and risk markets, balanced by currency considerations and the dynamics of its European corporate base.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute investment advice. Stocks are volatile financial instruments.