Strong growth and margin progression, AEPS +20%, significant shareholder returns. 2025 margin guidance improved, new £1 billion share buyback in H2

David Schwimmer, CEO said:

“We have continued our strong and consistent growth track record, with a good performance from our subscription businesses enhanced by our leading markets platforms, which drove upside from increased volatility in the period. At the same time, we have improved our margins strongly as we realise the benefits of our ongoing transformation and deliver attractive operating leverage.

“We have built a business which is strategically aligned to a number of powerful growth drivers: the long-term growth in demand for data to feed and drive the modern economy, including for AI models, the digitisation of financial markets and the increasing demands of regulatory, financial and reputational risk management. We continue to make significant investments in product innovation for our customers, to generate growth over the long term. The first half was marked by a consistent cadence of new product launches, which we expect to continue in H2.

“Our strong cash generation supports significant shareholder returns: after the £500 million buyback in H1, we intend to execute up to a further £1 billion in buybacks over the coming months and have raised the interim dividend 15%. We also continue to evaluate inorganic growth opportunities. Given the substantial improvement in profitability year-on-year, we are also upgrading our margin guidance for 2025 to +75-100 bps from +50-100 bps.”

Financial highlights

(All growth rates relate to H1 and are expressed on an organic, constant currency basis unless otherwise stated)

• Total income (excl. recoveries) +7.8% (Q2 +7.8%); +6.8% on a reported basis
• All divisions performing well: Data & Analytics +5.1% (Q2 +5.1%); FTSE Russell +7.6% (Q2 +5.5%); Risk Intelligence +12.2% (Q2 +13.7%); Markets +10.7% (Q2 +10.9%)
• ASV³ growth at June 2025 +5.8% (Q1 2025: +6.4%), reflecting expected competitor response to our improved performance; final Credit Suisse/UBS adjustment expected in Q3
• Significant margin improvement: Adjusted EBITDA margin 49.5% +100 bps. Constant currency margin +150 bps, with -50 bps of FX-related impacts. EBITDA +10.9% on a reported basis
• Strong adjusted earnings growth: Adjusted EPS +20.1% at actual rates, benefiting from lower net finance expenses, the buy-in of LCH minorities in 2024 and ongoing share buybacks. Reported EPS +89.6%, at actual rates
• Strong cash generation: equity free cash flow £935 million, +43.6%, with EBITDA growth converted to free cash flow as a result of falling capital intensity, agile debt management and reduced effective tax rate

Strategic progress 

• Strong pipeline of innovation continues: 250 enhancements to Workspace, Eikon sunset as planned; launch of DigitalAssetClear, and Treasury Futures clearing with FMX; FTSE Russell partnership with StepStone for private company indices
• Further progress with Microsoft: launch of Excel and PowerPoint Workspace add-ins, Workspace app in Teams and Company Fundamentals in Data-as-a-Service platform
• Engineering transformation driving product culture and margin improvement: 52% of engineering resource now in-house
• Significant shareholder returns: £500 million returned via buybacks in H1, with up to a further £1 billion to be completed in H2; interim dividend +14.6% to 47.0p per share⁴, to be paid on 17 September 2025 to all shareholders on the share register at the record date of 15 August 2025. The ex-dividend date is 14 August 2025

Improved 2025 guidance

• Organic constant currency growth in total income (excl. recoveries) of 6.5-7.5% (unchanged)
• Constant currency EBITDA margin +75-100 bps, up from +50-100 bps, and + c. 250 basis points 2024-2026 against a 2023 baseline
• Capex intensity c. 10% (unchanged)
• Equity free cash flow at least £2.4 billion (unchanged)
• Underlying effective tax rate 24-25% (unchanged)

Source: LSEG