00:00So let's talk about AI. Of course, you think about LSEG shares. It was a rough 2025 because people
00:06have really been trying to figure out where the next disruption could be. So talk to us a little
00:10bit about how LSEG is approaching AI and how you sort of future-proof your business here.
00:16So AI is actually a great opportunity for LSEG and the market, our investors have gotten to
00:22understand that better and better over the last several months, in large part because there's a
00:26better understanding of the fact that the vast majority, like 90% plus of our data, is effectively
00:32proprietary. And these AI channels, AI capabilities, are making our data more valuable. And so we're
00:39seeing this in terms of our customers wanting to access our data, for example, through these channels
00:46and being able to use more and more data through the power of AI. So we've got partnerships with
00:51all those you would expect, whether that's an open AI, whether that's anthropic, of course,
00:55Microsoft, Google, others. And we're seeing this as basically a new distribution channel. And our
01:02customers are seeing it as a great way to access our data. And using AI, they're actually consuming
01:09more of the data than they would have been using if, for example, it's just a human accessing the data.
01:15An agent or model tends to consume a lot more data than a human. So it's ending up, I think,
01:22going to be a big
01:22positive for us. And the market, our investors are starting to understand that better and better.
01:27And so I want to talk a little bit about how this relates to your dealings with your activist
01:32investor, Elliot, because, you know, they really have pushed you to show how AI, you know, sort of
01:39benefits your data business, which, as you point out, is very sticky. And a lot of it is proprietary.
01:43They've also really focused on your share buyback program. And earlier this year, you did announce
01:49a pretty sizable share buyback plan here when it comes to, I believe it was three billion pounds.
01:56Elliot, I think, wanted five billion pounds. So do you have plans to increase that buyback or how are
02:03engagements with Elliot going?
02:04So we engage with all of our shareholders. Some of our shareholders are more vocal than others,
02:12but we listen to all of them. We engage with all of them. I think the three billion buyback that
02:17we
02:18announced at, I guess that was our Q, I'm not sure if that was our Q1 or our full year.
02:23End of February.
02:23Yeah, yeah, full year results. It landed really well with the markets. And the reason we targeted that
02:29amount was because that allows us to it's a bigger buyback than we've ever done before,
02:35significantly larger. And it also allows us to maintain our strategic flexibility.
02:39So as we go through this year, this is a business that generates a healthy amount of cash flow.
02:44And so we can definitely fund the full buyback. And then at the end of the year, we'll be squarely
02:50in
02:50the middle of our one and a half to two and a half times net debt to EBITDA range. And
02:55so that just
02:56gives us strategic flexibility. If there's M&A that we want to do over the course of the year,
02:59we're able to do that at the same time that we have a very healthy buyback in the market.
03:04Are there M&A opportunities out there that you're looking for? I mean,
03:07what could you even digest at this point? So we're always evaluating opportunities.
03:11Over the last few years, we've done, I think, about seven modest size, what we call bolt-on transactions.
03:19And they've all been very helpful in terms of adding new capabilities, adding new functionality for
03:24us and enabling us to really plug those capabilities into the breadth of our offering.
03:31And we're evaluating opportunities on a regular basis. We say no to a lot more than we do.
03:40But I think it makes sense to always evaluate what's out there. I am curious,
03:44though, just in terms of growing your business. And I mean, let's just focus on just the organic
03:48growth itself. I would assume some of the market volatility of late aids you. I know that might be
03:53more of a short term. But I'm also curious just about we talk here in the U.S. about this
03:57whole
03:58pipeline of IPOs coming to market. I am curious about what is sort of the health of the listing
04:03market overseas in London, in Europe right now, relative to what we're seeing here in the U.S.
04:08Is there a competitive case to be made for London right now? Sure. So we are actually seeing a
04:14healthier pipeline today than I have seen in my eight years in the role. And the team at the London
04:22Stock
04:22Exchange sees that pipeline actually being stronger than we've seen going back really before the
04:28financial crisis. So that we'll see that in the back half of this year and going into next year.
04:33And it's a bunch of companies that are based out of the U.K. It's some based out of Europe,
04:37some out of the Middle East, some from Asia as well. So it is a healthy and attractive pipeline.
04:43So none of the I guess we'll call it political issues over there have had any potential effect on
04:49your business. I mean, you've cycled through quite a few leaders over there in the U.K.
04:52So yeah, I would say that the markets certainly prefer political stability,
04:57but we've had political instability all over the world. And I think in many ways, the markets,
05:05again, they prefer stability, but people are looking, companies, issuers are looking for capital.
05:12They're looking for growth. And in many ways, a lot of them are at the point where, you know,
05:16we can't wait for everything to become calm and stable. And they're looking to access the markets.
05:23Well, you talk about the healthy pipeline that you see. I do want to talk about the trend that
05:27we've seen develop in a big way over the past few years, which is, you know, companies listed
05:31elsewhere in Europe, in London, switching their listing altogether to New York or, you know,
05:38U.S. exchanges. And, you know, when you talk about this healthy pipeline, does that imply that,
05:43you know, you see that trend maybe tapering off a bit? Or how do you sort of keep the companies
05:48that
05:48you already have listed with your exchange? So companies have a better understanding of,
05:55to use your word, that trend. If you look at companies over the last several years that have
06:02gone from the U.K. to listing and raising capital in the U.S., it's actually a pretty tough track
06:07record.
06:08It's about 20 companies that have come to the U.S. and raised over 100 million in capital.
06:12And I think something like three of them might be four are still listed and trading up.
06:21And then the other 17 or so is a combination of having been delisted or trading down an average of
06:28sort of 60 to 70 percent. So it's it's a frankly terrible track record. There are there are a couple
06:35examples where companies have come over to the U.S. and done well, but they're really the exceptions.
06:41And the companies that are over in the U.K. and in Europe that look at this like they can
06:48see those
06:48results and they can recognize, you know, you come over to the U.S. if you don't have a reason
06:54for being in the U.S., if you're not a very large company with a great story, there's a significant
07:00risk
07:00of being an orphan stock. And we also hear this from some companies over here listed in the U.S.
07:08that if they're not of a certain size, they're at risk of being so-called orphan stocks. So now from
07:15that perspective, there are a lot of companies that look at that and they realize we're going to be
07:19much better off on the London Stock Exchange.
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