RELX PLC (LON:REL) Just Reported Interim Earnings: Have Analysts Changed Their Mind On The Stock?
It's been a good week for RELX PLC (LON:REL) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest interim results, and the shares gained 2.9% to UK£25.68. It was a credible result overall, with revenues of UK£4.9b and statutory earnings per share of UK£1.12 both in line with analyst estimates, showing that RELX is executing in line with expectations. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on RELX after the latest results.
Following the latest results, RELX's 15 analysts are now forecasting revenues of UK£10.1b in 2026. This would be a credible 3.8% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory per share are forecast to be UK£1.27, approximately in line with the last 12 months. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of UK£10.1b and earnings per share (EPS) of UK£1.27 in 2026. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.
View our latest analysis for RELX
The analysts reconfirmed their price target of UK£33.85, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on RELX, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at UK£50.70 and the most bearish at UK£21.20 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.
Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. The analysts are definitely expecting RELX's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 7.8% annualised growth to the end of 2026 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 6.2% per annum over the past five years. Other similar companies in the industry (with analyst coverage) are also forecast to grow their revenue at 6.4% per year. RELX is expected to grow at about the same rate as its industry, so it's not clear that we can draw any conclusions from its growth relative to competitors.
The Bottom Line
The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for RELX going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here..
Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with RELX .
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.