AI is lifting the old data moat at RELX
- RELX is shifting from print and reference content into higher-margin analytics and AI decision tools.
- Risk is the biggest segment and gets more than 90 percent of its revenue from machine-to-machine use.
- Legal revenue accelerated to 10 percent growth as AI platforms drove the vast majority of new sales.
- STM revenue grew 6 percent as the LeapSpace generative AI platform moved through its commercial rollout.
- Management confirmed that AI computing token costs remain less than 1 percent of the overall cost base.
The AI uplift is accelerating
RELX is looking less like a legacy publisher and more like a high-margin analytics software company. The clearest proof is Legal, where underlying revenue grew 10 percent and underlying adjusted operating profit grew 13 percent in the first half of 2026. Management said that 90 percent of the value of new sales in the Legal segment now comes from AI-enabled platforms.
Risk remains the core engine. Its tools help customers check fraud, identity, financial crime, and other risks. More than 90 percent of Risk revenue comes from machine-to-machine interactions. This means RELX is built directly into customer systems rather than used only by people logging into a website.
STM is also stepping up. The segment grew 6 percent on an ex-print basis, fueled by the commercial expansion of LeapSpace, its generative AI science platform.
The bear case is not about print anymore. Print is separated and makes up only 4 percent of total revenue. The harder questions are whether AI price uplifts can last after early adopters renew, and how new federal funding proposals might impact university and government research budgets.
Data sold as daily work tools
RELX sells subscriptions, data feeds, analytics, research access, legal workflow tools, and event access. Customers pay because the products help them make decisions faster, reduce risk, or find trusted information.
The model improves when RELX moves from static content to tools that sit inside daily work. A fraud check inside a bank process, a legal draft inside Lexis+ AI, or a science search inside LeapSpace can become part of the customer workflow.
The company also works to keep cost growth below revenue growth. That is why revenue growth can turn into faster profit growth. Despite the heavy computing needs of new generative AI tools, management noted in mid-2026 that AI token costs still make up less than 1 percent of the total cost base.
The model breaks if customers decide the AI features do not justify higher spending, or if RELX has to spend much more on data, computing, product development, or sales to hold onto its growth.
Where the tools sit
Risk analytics
Risk sells fraud, identity, compliance, and decision tools. It is the largest segment and gets more than 90 percent of revenue from machine-to-machine use.
Lexis+ and Lexis+ AI
Lexis+ uses extractive AI to pull answers from source material. Lexis+ AI adds generative features to draft and summarize for legal users.
Protégé
Protégé is a next-generation legal assistant. It is scaling rapidly with hundreds of specialized workflows to automate legal tasks.
STM databases and journals
STM sells science, technical, and medical databases, tools, electronic reference, and primary research journals.
LeapSpace
LeapSpace is a generative AI platform for science and research users designed to improve primary research workflows.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions runs face-to-face trade events and adds digital tools around them.
Print and print-related activities
Print is declining and is reported separately. It accounts for about 4 percent of revenue.
Revenue mix
Segment shares are based on RELX 2025 annual results. Print is now managed and reported separately, so the core segment growth rates exclude print.
What could go wrong
AI renewal disappointment
High impact · Medium oddsLegal growth depends on customers paying more for Lexis+ AI and Protégé. Early adopters may be easier to convert than the next wave. If renewals come with smaller price uplifts, the 10 percent Legal growth rate could slow.
Research budget pressure
Medium impact · Medium oddsSTM sells to universities, researchers, governments, and healthcare users. Recent OMB proposals to make journal subscription costs unallowable on federal research awards could pressure budgets. While direct US government funding is a low single-digit percent of research articles, broader funding cuts can still hit volume.
AI cost creep
Medium impact · Medium oddsRELX margins depend on cost growth staying below revenue growth. Generative AI can raise computing, data, and engineering costs. Token costs are currently under 1 percent of the cost base, but if they rise faster than customer spending, profit growth could lag.
Print decline reappears
Medium impact · High oddsPrint is only 4 percent of revenue and is reported separately, which reduces the drag on Legal and STM optics. Still, print is a shrinking pool. A faster decline could offset some group growth and reduce cash available for buybacks.
In one breath
What does RELX actually do?
RELX sells information and decision tools to professional customers. Its main areas are Risk, science and medical information, Legal, Exhibitions, and a small separate Print business.
Why do investors call RELX an AI company now?
RELX has used analytics for years, especially in Risk. The newer shift is generative AI in Legal and STM, through tools such as Lexis+ AI, Protégé, and LeapSpace.
Is print still a big problem for RELX?
Print is still declining, but it is now only 4 percent of total revenue. Management also reports it separately, which makes the growth of Legal and STM easier to see.
What is the key metric to watch?
Watch whether Legal can keep growing near 10 percent on an ex-print basis as Lexis+ AI renewals broaden. Also watch STM growth as LeapSpace moves from launch into paid use.
