Wolters Kluwer N.V.

First-half 2026 revenues were EUR 3.033 billion, down 1% reported due to currency but up 4% in constant currencies and up 5% organically. Adjusted operating profit was EUR 893 million, up 10% in constant currencies; the adjusted operating margin expanded 100 basis points to 29.4%. First-half diluted adjusted EPS was EUR 2.83, up 14% in constant currencies, and adjusted free cash flow was EUR 533 million, up 14% in constant currencies. For the full year, management reiterated guidance for another year of good organic growth, further margin increase, high-single-digit growth in diluted adjusted EPS in constant currencies, and an adjusted operating margin of approximately 28%.

Stacey Caywood said the company had a good start to the year and emphasized that subscription renewals are strong across the group. Her strategic focus was on accelerating advanced AI innovation, embedding AI into core platforms, and using partnerships and workflow integrations to deepen customer adoption. She highlighted broad rollout progress in Health, Tax & Accounting, and Legal & Regulatory, while noting that recent acquisitions and partnerships are already contributing to growth.

Kevin Entricken highlighted the hard numbers behind the first-half performance: EUR 3.033 billion in revenue, EUR 893 million in adjusted operating profit, 29.4% margin, EUR 2.83 diluted adjusted EPS, and EUR 533 million of adjusted free cash flow. He said the margin gain was helped by operational gearing, efficiency programs, and the FRR divestiture, but that product development spending is expected to rise from 11% of revenues in the first half to 12% to 13% for the full year, weighted to the second half. He also noted net debt of about EUR 4 billion, a 2.0x net debt-to-EBITDA ratio, and a commitment to both the progressive dividend and share repurchases, including EUR 215 million of buybacks in the first half.

Analysts focused heavily on AI monetization, the pace of adoption inside customer bases, and how much pricing power AI features could add. Management said Expert AI is bundled into Enterprise Edition subscriptions in Health, with monetization expected mainly through renewals, price increases, and add-on modules over time; they declined to quantify user-level adoption or immediate pricing uplift. Questions also probed second-half margin pressure, and Kevin said higher product development and token costs will weigh, though AI token costs remain a small part of the cost base. On legal and tax, management said second-half growth should improve as Brightflag becomes organic and Libra contributes later, while ProSystem-to-Axcess migration is now over the halfway mark.