Q2 FY2026
Filed Aug 5, 2026Thomson Reuters Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Results
Second-quarter total revenues grew 9%, organic revenues grew 8%, and “Big 3” segment organic revenue growth was 10%. Operating profit increased 28%, adjusted EBITDA increased 10%, free cash flow increased 29%, and the company raised its full-year total-company and “Big 3” revenue-growth outlook.
Key metrics
as reported| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenuesother | $1,954 million | – | 9% |
| Revenue growth in constant currencynon-GAAP | 9% | – | – |
| Organic revenue growthnon-GAAP | 8% | – | – |
| Recurring revenuesother | $1,601 million | – | 9% |
| Transactions revenuesother | $242 million | – | 16% |
| Operating expensesother | $(1,211) million | – | – |
| Depreciationother | $(27) million | – | – |
| Amortization of softwareother | $(201) million | – | – |
| Amortization of other identifiable intangible assetsother | $(25) million | – | – |
| Other operating gains, netother | $68 million | – | – |
| Operating profitother | $558 million | – | 28% |
| Net interest expenseother | $(47) million | – | – |
| Other finance income (costs)other | $8 million | – | – |
| Income before tax and equity method investmentsother | $519 million | – | – |
| Share of post-tax losses in equity method investmentsother | $(4) million | – | – |
| Tax expenseother | $(71) million | – | – |
| Earnings from continuing operationsother | $444 million | – | – |
| Earnings from discontinued operations, net of taxother | $4 million | – | – |
| Net earningsother | $448 million | – | – |
| Diluted EPSother | $1.02 | – | 48% |
| Adjusted EBITDAnon-GAAP | $745 million | – | 10% |
| Adjusted EBITDA marginnon-GAAP | 38.1% | – | 30bp |
| Adjusted EPSnon-GAAP | $0.99 | – | 14% |
| Net cash provided by operating activitiesother | $920 million | – | 23% |
| Capital expendituresother | $(177) million | – | – |
| Free cash flownon-GAAP | $727 million | – | 29% |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal ProfessionalsOrganic revenue growth was 10%, primarily driven by Westlaw and CoCounsel. Transactions revenues were driven by CLEAR. | $772 million | – | 10% |
| CorporatesOrganic revenue growth was 10%, driven by Westlaw, CoCounsel, Indirect Tax, Pagero, CLEAR, Confirmation, Trust, Checkpoint and the segment’s international businesses. | $537 million | – | 12% |
| Tax, Audit & Accounting ProfessionalsOrganic revenue growth was 8%, driven by tax and audit products including GoSystem and CoCounsel, Cloud Audit Suite, the segment’s Latin America business and SafeSend. | $311 million | – | 14% |
| “Big 3” Segments CombinedOrganic revenue growth was 10% and the “Big 3” segments collectively comprised 83% of total revenues. | $1,620 million | – | 11% |
| ReutersRevenue growth was primarily due to higher Agency revenues and a contractual price increase from the news agreement with the Data & Analytics business of London Stock Exchange Group. | $229 million | – | 5% |
| Global PrintRevenue declined due to lower shipment volumes. | $111 million | – | -3% |
FY 2026 and Q3 2026 outlook
- RevenueFY 2026 total revenue growth: ~ 8.0%; FY 2026 organic revenue growth: ~ 8.0%; FY 2026 “Big 3” total revenue growth: 9.5% - 10.0%; FY 2026 “Big 3” organic revenue growth: 9.5% - 10.0%; Q3 2026 organic revenue growth: approximately 8%
- Tax rateEffective tax rate on adjusted earnings: ~ 19%
- NoteFY 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin: +100bps vs 2025
- NoteFY 2026 “Big 3” adjusted EBITDA margin: +100bps vs 2025
- NoteFY 2026 corporate costs: $115 - $125 million
- NoteFY 2026 free cash flow: ~ $2.1 billion
- NoteFY 2026 accrued capex as % of revenues: ~ 8.0%
- NoteFY 2026 depreciation & amortization of software: $890 - $910 million
- NoteFY 2026 depreciation & amortization of internally developed software: $680 - $690 million
- NoteFY 2026 amortization of acquired software: $210 - $220 million
- NoteFY 2026 net interest expense: $180 - $190 million
- NoteQ3 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin: approximately 36%
Capital returns
- Completed a $605 million return of capital transaction on May 4, 2026.
- Reduced common shares outstanding by approximately 6.5 million shares through a share consolidation.
- The special cash distribution was $1.435518 per participating common share.
- Completed the $600 million share repurchase program in July 2026, repurchasing 6.2 million common shares for $600 million.
- Repurchased 3.6 million shares for $362 million through June 30, 2026 and 2.6 million shares for $238 million in July 2026.
- A quarterly dividend of $0.655 per share is payable on September 10, 2026 to common shareholders of record as of August 19, 2026.
- The annualized dividend was increased to $2.62 per common share.
What drove it
- Second-quarter recurring revenues, representing 82% of total revenues, increased 9%.
- Second-quarter transactions revenues increased 16%.
- Foreign currency benefited total company revenue growth by approximately 1%, and net acquisitions and disposals benefited growth by 1%.
- Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 38.1% from 37.8%, with foreign currency contributing 10 basis points to the year-over-year change.
- Operating profit growth reflected the net impact of higher revenues and operating expenses and other operating gains, partly offset by higher amortization of software.
- The company cited Westlaw, CoCounsel and other content-powered AI solutions as revenue-growth drivers in its core professional markets.
Concerns
- Global Print revenue declined 3% due to lower shipment volumes.
- Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 38.7% from 38.9%.
- Reuters adjusted EBITDA margin was 20.8%, unchanged from the prior-year period, and foreign currency negatively impacted the margin change by 80 basis points.
- The company continues to operate in an uncertain macroeconomic environment reflecting geopolitical risk, uneven economic growth, and an evolving interest rate and inflationary backdrop.
- Global Print will be classified as a discontinued operation in the third quarter of 2026 and will no longer be a reportable segment.
What to watch
- Execution against the Q3 2026 outlook for approximately 8% organic revenue growth and approximately 36% adjusted EBITDA margin.
- The expected fourth-quarter 2026 closing of the Global Print joint venture with KKR, under which Thomson Reuters expects approximately $500 million in gross proceeds.
- The pre-tax gain expected to be recorded when the Global Print transaction closes.
- The updated full-year 2026 outlook the company plans to provide with third-quarter results after Global Print is reported as a discontinued operation.
- Momentum from CoCounsel Legal and the first production ready version of the Thomson LLM.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Cash and cash equivalents were $577 million as of June 30, 2026, compared with $511 million as of December 31, 2025.
- Current indebtedness was $1,618 million and long-term indebtedness was $1,323 million as of June 30, 2026.
- Total debt was $2,941 million; net debt was $2,628 million; and net debt/adjusted EBITDA was 0.9:1 as of June 30, 2026.
- Repaid $500 million 3.35% notes in May 2026 with cash on hand and commercial paper borrowings.
- Six-month net cash provided by operating activities was $1,425 million, compared with $1,191 million.
- Six-month free cash flow was $1,059 million, compared with $843 million.
- Six-month capital expenditures were $(333) million, compared with $(314) million.
- As of August 3, 2026, Thomson Reuters had approximately 433.2 million common shares outstanding.
Analysis
Thomson Reuters reported a strong second quarter. Total revenues increased 9% to $1,954 million, with 8% organic revenue growth. Recurring revenues, representing 82% of total revenues, increased 9%, while transactions revenues increased 16%. The “Big 3” segments generated $1,620 million of revenue, grew 10% organically and represented 83% of total revenues. Legal Professionals, Corporates and Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals all posted double-digit reported revenue growth, while Global Print declined 3%.
Profitability improved despite higher operating expenses and higher software amortization. Operating profit increased 28% to $558 million, supported by higher revenues, the net impact of operating expenses and $68 million of other operating gains. Adjusted EBITDA increased 10% to $745 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin increased 30 basis points to 38.1%. Corporates delivered the largest segment margin gain, with adjusted EBITDA margin increasing to 37.2% from 35.7% on operating leverage. Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals margin decreased to 38.7% from 38.9%, while Legal Professionals margin was unchanged at 48.1%.
Earnings and cash generation were also higher. Diluted EPS increased to $1.02 from $0.69, and adjusted EPS increased to $0.99 from $0.87. Net cash provided by operating activities increased 23% to $920 million, and free cash flow increased 29% to $727 million. The company completed a $605 million return of capital transaction, completed its $600 million repurchase program in July, and repaid $500 million of 3.35% notes in May. Net debt was $2,628 million at June 30, 2026, compared with $1,896 million at December 31, 2025.
Management raised its full-year 2026 outlook for total-company total and organic revenue growth to approximately 8.0%, and raised “Big 3” total and organic revenue growth to 9.5% - 10.0%. Other full-year outlook metrics were unchanged, including approximately $2.1 billion of free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of +100bps versus 2025. For the third quarter, the company expects approximately 8% organic revenue growth and approximately 36% adjusted EBITDA margin.
The Global Print transaction will reshape reported results later in the year. Thomson Reuters signed a definitive agreement to sell a 51% stake in Global Print to capital accounts advised by KKR, expects approximately $500 million in gross proceeds at closing, and expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Global Print will be classified as a discontinued operation beginning with third-quarter results, and the company plans to provide an updated full-year outlook at that time. This leaves execution in the core “Big 3” segments, AI product adoption and the Global Print separation as the principal reported items to monitor.
Management, verbatim
We saw strong momentum continue in the second quarter, underscored by 10% organic revenue growth in our “Big 3” segments.
Steve Hasker, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters
Our priority for the second half of the year is further deepening our leadership in trusted Fiduciary-Grade AI solutions.
Steve Hasker, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters
The recently announced Global Print transaction with KKR allows us to sharpen our focus on content-powered AI solutions that provide fiduciary grade outcomes for our professional markets.
Steve Hasker, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Gross margin was not reported.
- GAAP or IFRS net income margin was not reported.
- Quarter-over-quarter comparisons were not reported for the consolidated metrics or segments.
- A current-quarter effective tax rate was not reported.
- Prior-quarter revenue, operating profit, net earnings, EPS, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS, operating cash flow and free cash flow were not reported.
- No previous earnings release outlook document was provided for formal comparison of reported results with prior guidance.
AlphAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.