London Stock Exchange Group plc

LSEG reported organic revenue growth of 8.4% in H1, reported revenue growth of 6.9% after a 1.5% FX headwind, adjusted EBITDA growth of 14%, adjusted EPS growth of 17%, and free cash flow per share growth of 37%. Underlying EBITDA margin was 52.4% versus 49.8% in H1 last year, with 120 bps of underlying margin expansion in the half after adjusting for FX. On cash flow, free cash flow rose 29% to GBP 1.2 billion, and the company returned GBP 2.6 billion to shareholders in H1, including GBP 2.1 billion of buybacks and GBP 500 million of dividends. Management raised full-year guidance for revenue growth to 7% to 7.5% from 6.5% to 7.5%, and raised EBITDA margin guidance to around 100 bps improvement; it also guided to capital intensity of around 9.5% of total income and equity free cash flow of at least GBP 2.7 billion. Net finance expense was GBP 149 million in H1, and the company said full-year net finance expense should be around GBP 300 million.

David Schwimmer framed the quarter as proof that LSEG is becoming more valuable in an AI-driven market, not less. He emphasized that the company’s trusted, proprietary, auditable data is central to enterprise AI use cases, and said LSEG is increasingly acting as a partner that helps customers navigate regulation, cybersecurity, IP protection, sovereignty, and token-cost concerns. His tone was confident and expansive, with repeated references to deeper customer engagement, new distribution channels, and faster product innovation across both D&A and Markets.

Michel-Alain Proch highlighted broad-based financial strength: organic revenue up 8.4%, adjusted EBITDA up 14%, adjusted EPS up 17%, and free cash flow per share up 37%. He said the H1 EBITDA margin improvement was 260 bps after FX, of which 140 bps related to the SwapClear revenue-share change and 120 bps was underlying, and he pointed to labor discipline, insourcing, and operating leverage as key drivers. He also noted H1 adjusted net finance expense of GBP 149 million, a full-year expectation of around GBP 300 million, leverage at 2.1x net debt-to-EBITDA, and capital returns of GBP 2.6 billion in H1, plus a new interim dividend of 55p per share and another GBP 1.4 billion of buybacks planned through the full-year 2026 results date.

Analysts focused on AI disruption, MCP monetization, subscription growth, and the pace of new LDA wins. Management said AI has been a net positive because it increases demand for trusted data, while MCP is important but only about 1/3 of current AI commercial discussions and should not materially move 2026 results; they expect more meaningful contribution in 2027 through slow, steady adoption rather than a spike. On subscriptions, management said the H1 6.3% growth rate should step up to 6.7% in H2 to reach 6.5% for the full year, supported by record gross sales in Q4 and a stronger product lineup. They also pushed back on claims that AI-related sales cycles are lengthening, saying LDA relationships actually speed engagement and that they are not seeing sales cycles blow out.