Thomson Reuters TRI-T reported a double-digit first-quarter revenue rise on Tuesday, boosted by gains in its “Big 3” business segments of legal professionals, corporates and tax, and audit and accounting, lifting its shares in early trading.
The Toronto-based content and technology company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue forecast of a rise of between 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent as it said customers were choosing its artificial intelligence products, which Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker described as “fiduciary-grade AI.”
“Across law, tax, audit and compliance, professionals accountable for high-stakes outcomes are choosing our AI products, built to the standards their work demands – grounded in authoritative content, designed and tested by our domain experts, and created to produce results that can be verified and audited under real-world scrutiny,” Hasker said in a statement.
Thomson Reuters leans on proprietary data in AI race as disruption fears mount
Shares in Thomson Reuters, which have fallen by nearly 30 per cent this year, underperforming a rise of 5.2 per cent in the S&P 500 index, rose by more than 5 per cent at the open on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The stock has been hit by fears over the challenge that AI newcomers, including Anthropic, present to companies such as Thomson Reuters, which sparked a wider selloff in software, data and professional services shares earlier this year.
Hasker highlighted the role of Thomson Reuters in delivering AI to professionals such as lawyers, tax preparers or court officials in an interview following the results.
“The consequences of error and hallucination are too much to bear,” Hasker said, adding that to get something wrong would result in fines. “They result in loss of reputation, loss of license to practice, loss of clients and client relationships. And that’s where fiduciary-grade AI kicks in,” he said.
Hasker cited the 2,700 legal experts on staff creating legal content and hundreds of accountants ready to answer questions and proprietary data as major advantages for clients to rely on Thomson Reuters services over those of frontier AI models.
First quarter revenue, EPS exceed forecasts
“Thomson Reuters has done enough to calm the immediate AI concerns,” PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said, adding: “The company appears well placed for the AI era, but the focus remains on execution.”
“If it can embed trusted, auditable AI deeper into daily workflows, it strengthens customer loyalty, protects pricing power and builds a more defensible long-term position,” he said.
Thomson Reuters chief financial officer Michael Eastwood said in an interview that generative AI was responsible for about 30 per cent of the company’s underlying contract value, which breaks down a contract’s total value, in the first quarter, compared with 28 per cent in the fourth quarter.
Thomson Reuters said its first-quarter revenue rose 10 per cent to US$2.09-billion, surpassing estimates of US$2.04-billion. It said earnings per share excluding items rose to US$1.23. Wall Street had forecast earnings per share of US$1.20.
Revenue at Reuters, Thomson Reuters’ news division, rose 7 per cent as a result of higher agency revenue and a price increase from its business with the London Stock Exchange Group.
Thomson Reuters also said it completed a US$605-million return of capital to shareholders, reducing outstanding common shares by about 6.5 million. It also repurchased 2.5 million of common shares for about US$262-million.
Eastwood said the company had about US$9-billion of capital to spend on deals through 2028.
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