Feb 5 (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters reported higher fourth quarter revenue on Thursday, boosted by its legal, tax and accounting and corporates businesses, as investors assess the impact of artificial intelligence companies moving into its key markets.
The Toronto-based content and technology company also forecast its full-year 2026 revenue would rise by between 7.5% and 8%. Wall Street expects revenue growth of 7.7%, LSEG data shows.
"We are seeing tangible benefits from our continued investments in AI,"
said Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker.
"We will continue to scale our agentic capabilities to deliver greater speed, clarity, and confidence for our customers – further demonstrating the value of professional‑grade tools built on quality content and deep subject‑matter expertise," Hasker added in the results statement.
Thomson Reuters said fourth quarter revenue rose 5% to $2 billion, matching expectations in LSEG estimates. Its earnings per share were $1.07. Wall Street had expected $1.06 per share excluding items.
Share prices have been hit by fears over the challenge that AI newcomers, including Anthropic, present to companies like Thomson Reuters, which fell nearly 18% on Tuesday amid a broad selloff in the software, data and professional services sector.
Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot, launched a legal plugin for its Claude Cowork coding tool on January 30 that helps execute tasks including reviewing legal documents, generating briefings and tracking compliance.
Revenue in the "Big 3" Thomson Reuters segments of legal, tax and accounting and corporates rose 9% on an organic basis.
The Reuters news division's organic revenue increased by 5%, boosted by content licensing revenue deals.
Thomson Reuters' operating profit fell 25% to $540 million from a year ago, when it benefited from the sale of FindLaw.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li in New York; Editing by Alexander Smith)
