London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG) shares were little moved on Thursday morning despite a new £1 billion share buyback and higher guidance being announced after first half profits beat expectations, with progress on its Microsoft partnership also revealed.
Adjusted EBITDA came in 9% higher at £2.22 billion, slightly above estimates, while profit before tax climbed 43% to £991 million.
Total income excluding recoveries rose by 6.8% to £4.5 billion on a reported basis and 7.8% on an organic constant currency basis.
CEO David Schwimmer said: "We have continued our strong and consistent growth track record, with a good performance from our subscription businesses enhanced by our leading markets platforms, which drove upside from increased volatility in the period.
"We have built a business which is strategically aligned to a number of powerful growth drivers... including for AI models, the digitisation of financial markets and the increasing demands of regulatory, financial and reputational risk management."
The interim dividend was raised 14.6% to 47p per share and, after returning £500 million in the first half, a further £1 billion in share buybacks was announced for the second half.
The company also raised its EBITDA margin guidance for 2025 to a range of +75 to 100 basis points. Full-year income growth, capex intensity, tax rate, and cash flow guidance remain unchanged.
Shares in LSEG were down 0.9% at 9,964p in initial trading.