Group 1 - London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced a record £3 billion (approximately $4 billion) share buyback, which led to a 9% increase in its stock price, marking the largest one-day gain in nearly four years [2][4]. - Elliott Management publicly disclosed its stake in LSEG and called for further actions to enhance value, indicating that while the buyback is a positive step, more is needed to close the valuation gap with global peers [3][5]. - LSEG's executives stated that the buyback was not a response to activist pressure and emphasized that there are no plans for asset sales, although acquisitions remain a possibility [6]. Group 2 - The backdrop for this situation includes a stock that has decreased by approximately 25% over the past year as investors reassess the outlook for financial data businesses in an AI-driven environment [7]. - The market is concerned that advancements in AI, particularly large language models, could undermine the value of premium data terminals and analytics subscriptions, which are critical to LSEG's business model [9]. - The recent buyback reflects investor demand for tangible actions rather than abstract reassurances regarding AI, highlighting that while buybacks can boost earnings per share, they do not address underlying structural valuation issues [10].