Thomson Reuters(TRI) - 2025 Q4 - Earnings Call Transcript

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Full-year organic revenue grew by 7%, driven by a 9% growth for the big three segments [9][12] - Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 100 basis points to 39.2%, meeting the company's outlook [9][14] - Free cash flow for 2025 was $1.95 billion, slightly ahead of expectations [9][24] - Adjusted earnings per share for the year was $3.92, compared to $3.77 per share in the prior year [14] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Legal organic revenue grew by 9%, driven by Westlaw and CoCounsel [12][21] - Corporate segment's organic revenue also grew by 9%, supported by legal, tax, and risk portfolios [12][21] - Tax, audit, and accounting organic revenues increased by 11%, driven by UltraTax and CoCounsel [12][13] - Reuters' organic revenues rose by 5%, primarily due to growth in the agency business [12][14] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The percentage of annualized contract value (ACV) from GenAI-enabled products increased to 28%, up from 24% in the previous quarter [22] - Global print organic revenues declined by 6% year-on-year, in line with expectations [12][14] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims to leverage proprietary content and deep domain expertise alongside AI capabilities to deliver specialized workflows [8][10] - The strategy includes aggressive innovation and a focus on AI-driven solutions, particularly in legal workflows [8][10] - The company plans to continue its balanced capital allocation approach, including annual dividend growth and strategic M&A [11][25] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the medium-term growth potential, reaffirming a 2026 outlook for organic revenue growth of 7.5%-8% [11][27] - The company anticipates healthy margin expansion and strong free cash flow while continuing to invest in innovation [11][27] - Management noted that AI-driven workflows present a significant opportunity, particularly in legal services [8][10] Other Important Information - The company executed a $1 billion share repurchase program and announced a 10% increase in its annual common stock dividend [11][25] - The company invested $850 million in M&A, completing four strategic acquisitions [10][26] Q&A Session Summary Question: What drove the slowdown in legal recurring growth from Q3 to Q4? - Management indicated that the slowdown was associated with the government business, which is expected to slow further in Q1 due to cancellations [34][36] Question: What is the moat around Westlaw and Practical Law? - Management highlighted the unique content sets and deep domain expertise as key differentiators that are difficult for competitors to replicate [39][41] Question: How are share buybacks prioritized in the current environment? - Management acknowledged that share repurchases are attractive at current levels and will continue discussions with the board regarding this [45][46] Question: What is the size and adoption progress of CoCounsel? - Management noted that while specific dollar figures are not provided, the reception of CoCounsel has been encouraging across various law firm sizes [51][53] Question: How does the company plan to monetize AI product innovations? - Management stated that they do not price based on headcount and aim to price based on value, benefiting from increased efficiency in legal and tax departments [66][67]