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31 May 2023
Preferred Gen AI play

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Preferred Gen AI play
RELX PLC (REL:LON) | 2,794 810.1 1.0% | Mkt Cap: 52,806m
- Published:
31 May 2023 -
Author:
Kassab Sami SK -
Pages:
23 -
Relx has a 30+ year history benefiting from AI. We think Generative AI is likely to contribute to higher levels of growth and margin expansion. Recent share price weakness offers a buying opportunity in our preferred Gen AI play in Media.
Relx - our preferred Gen AI play within Media
We review the implications of Gen AI on professional information vendors and argue that Relx is well positioned to benefit. We raise our TP to GBP30 and see Relx as our preferred Gen AI play in European Media. See also PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION: AI Winners.
Fears of disruption look overdone
Investors have recently voiced concerns on the impact of Gen AI on the group. These concerns look overdone. Relx owns high-quality, copyrighted training datasets on which AI models are likely to produce more accurate and valuable customer solutions than when trained on public data. The group also benefits from substantial entry barriers, e.g., embedded systems, an established sales force, recognised brands and a solid balance sheet. We view Relx as a likely winner in the Gen AI race.
Gen AI to contribute to higher levels of growth and margin expansion
We see Gen AI as a further step in the AI innovation spectrum that the company has pursued for many years. We believe this technology will contribute to higher top-line growth levels. Lexis+ AI could on its own add 1%pt of divisional growth in the next 3 years. We estimate that half of Relx''s jobs are likely to see efficiency gains thanks to AI, in particular within research article production and legal editorial costs.
TP raised to GBP30; reiterate Outperform
Excluding forex movements, our underlying EPS is up 1% and 5% respectively for FY24e and FY25e. From FY24, we expect Relx to deliver a sustainable 6% pa top-line growth, ahead of VA Consensus at 5%. We forecast adj. margins 60-80bps ahead and stand 2% and 4% above consensus EPS for FY24e and FY25e. A solid H1 23 performance driven by all four divisions could be the next...