Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on May 1, 2025
By Kenneth Li
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Thomson Reuters on Thursday confirmed 2025 financial guidance amid tariff-induced global economic turmoil that has led some companies to revise or scrap forecasts altogether.
The Toronto-based content and technology company reported quarterly revenue rising 1% to $1.9 billion, slightly below analyst expectations of $1.93 billion, according to LSEG data.
Organic revenue, which strips out the impact of currency moves, acquisitions and asset sales, rose 6%.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Hasker said businesses and government agencies were broadly more cautious about investment decisions amid the turmoil, but most of Thomson Reuters revenue was recurring in nature, often locked into multi-year contracts.
"Everyone is bracing themselves," Hasker said in a post-results interview of the unstable economic backdrop caused in part by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.
"But as we've seen with Microsoft, we haven't seen any impact yet ... We've made a good start to the year, meeting or exceeding our expectations," he added, referring to Wednesday's results from the U.S. tech giant.
Thomson Reuters is also expected to uphold its 2026 organic revenue growth target of 7.5% to 8%, Chief Financial Officer Mike Eastwood said. "Steve and I remain confident in delivering all aspects of our 2026 framework."
At 1410 GMT, Thomson Reuters shares were up 0.8% at C$258.66 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The company, which owns the Westlaw legal database, Reuters news agency and the Checkpoint tax and accounting service, reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.12. Wall Street expected a profit of $1.05 per share.
Shares of Thomson Reuters, which have risen 15% since the beginning of the year, have outpaced the S&P 500 index, which has fallen 5% over the same period.
Organic revenue for the company's "Big 3" business segments, comprising its legal, corporates and tax and accounting businesses, rose 9% in the quarter.
Revenue at constant currencies in the legal professionals business fell 3% due to the impact of the sale of legal marketing business FindLaw. Revenue in the tax and accounting division rose 12%, boosted by the purchase of SafeSend.
Reuters News revenue fell 7% after benefiting from non-recurring generative AI licensing revenue a year ago.
Second-quarter company-wide organic revenue is expected to pick up from the first quarter and rise 7%. The company reaffirmed its forecast for full-year organic revenue to increase by 7% to 7.5%.
Thomson Reuters purchased tax automation company cPaperless, LLC, owner of SafeSend, for $600 million in cash in the first quarter.
The company has said it has $10 billion to spend on potential acquisitions through 2027.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li in New YorkEditing by Mark Potter)
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