Wall Street rises as materials and crypto stocks offset continued bond sell-off
Investing.com -- Shares in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) fell 2% in early Thursday trading even as the company raised its 2026 outlook and reported first-half results ahead of expectations, powered by a surge in trading activity that lifted its markets business.
LSEG now expects organic constant-currency growth of 7.0% to 7.5% in total income excluding recoveries for the year, up from its previous guidance of growth at the upper end of a 6.5% to 7.5% range. Analysts had been forecasting income excluding recoveries to grow 7.8% on an organic constant-currency basis in 2026, before slowing to 6.8% in 2027.
The company also lifted its EBITDA margin guidance to growth of around 100 basis points, from a previously expected rise of 80 to 100 basis points.
For the six months to June, total income excluding recoveries rose 8.4%, versus expectations of 8.3%, to £4.80 billion.
LSEG said growth was broad-based across divisions, with Data & Analytics up 5.1%, FTSE Russell up 9.1%, Risk Intelligence up 9.7% and Markets up 11.9%, the last of which benefited from heightened trading volumes during the period.
"We have delivered a record first half performance, once again demonstrating our ability to grow and create value in any market environment. We have driven growth across all of our businesses through continued product innovation and a strong focus on customer partnership," said David Schwimmer, CEO of LSEG.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 13.7% to £2.53 billion, with the adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 52.7% from 49.5% a year earlier. Adjusted operating profit climbed 16.3% to £2.0 billion.
The results come as LSEG continues to navigate pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which has built a stake in the exchange operator.
The group announced earlier this week plans to launch LSE 24, a night-time trading platform, in the first half of 2027. The new venue will operate separately from LSE’s main market and initially offer trading in exchange-traded products, such as funds tracking U.K. or U.S. equity indices.
It will run from 5 p.m. to 7:50 a.m. London time, with a 30-minute pause from 6:30 to 7 p.m. for end-of-day processing, while the main market continues to trade its standard 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. hours.
