London, Feb 19, 2026, 08:08 GMT — Regular session
RELX PLC (REL.L) shares climbed 2.8% to 2,297 pence as of 0806 GMT, with early session swings between 2,250 and 2,301. Still, the stock remains well off its 52-week peak of 4,183 pence.
Investors are eyeing the company’s pace on cash returns after a rough run for UK “data” stocks. RELX reported Wednesday it had repurchased 1.8 million shares for its treasury, extending its buyback program — a process where companies buy their own shares, typically to reduce the number outstanding. Investegate
Compensation is under the spotlight again. Sky News says RELX is set to hand chief executive Erik Engstrom a hefty pay raise, aiming to align his package with some other FTSE 100 bosses. Reuters was unable to confirm the report right away. The company’s annual report lists Engstrom’s 2024 pay at 13.5 million pounds.
RELX, a company supplying analytics and data to sectors like banking, law and science, has been rattled lately as investors fret over generative AI’s potential to erode its lucrative subscription business. In full-year earnings released Feb. 12, RELX insisted that products with embedded AI would fuel expansion “for many years to come.” Finance chief Nick Luff told Reuters the company relies on “proprietary algorithms” to produce “the right judgments” in “high-value decisions.” The stock slide this month didn’t spare rivals Wolters Kluwer and Thomson Reuters either, both getting dragged down after AI outfit Anthropic unveiled a fresh plug-in for its Claude chatbot. Reuters
London’s mood has strengthened—at least for the moment. The FTSE 100 notched a fresh record on Wednesday, settling at 10,686.18, after inflation eased and traders ramped up wagers on a Bank of England rate cut as early as March. “Investors keep piling into UK assets,” said Axel Rudolph, senior financial analyst at IG. Reuters
That kind of setup means a beaten-down stock can find buyers from daily flows, buybacks among them. Still, the larger debate lingers: what happens to pricing power if AI tools upend the work of lawyers, scientists, or risk teams?
It’s a story investors know: buybacks might ease up, AI buzz can shift, and squabbles over executive pay could spill into shareholder votes and reputational bruises. Should the crowd start doubting how wide that moat really is, the rally could unravel in a hurry.
All eyes now shift to RELX’s annual general meeting and trading update set for April 23, where investors are watching for any fresh details on buybacks, pay proposals, and possible new insight into AI products from management.
