RELX Plc (RELX) 10-Year Financial Performance & Capital Metrics

RELX • • Industrial / General

Communication ServicesPublishingProfessional & Scientific PublishingLegal & Business Information

AboutRELX PLC provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Risk; Scientific, Technical & Medical; Legal; and Exhibitions. The Risk segment offers information-based analytics and decision tools that combine public and industry specific content with technology and algorithms to assist clients in evaluating and predicting risk. The Scientific, Technical & Medical segment provides information and analytics that help institutions and professionals to progress in science and advance healthcare. The Legal segment provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers in decision-making, as well as increases the productivity. The Exhibitions segment is involved in the events business that combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products, and complete transactions. The company was formerly known as Reed Elsevier PLC and changed its name to RELX PLC in July 2015. The company was incorporated in 1903 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.Show more

Revenue $9.43B +3.0%
EBITDA $3.15B -7.2%
Net Income $1.93B +8.6%
EPS (Diluted) 1.03 +9.6%
Gross Margin 65.02% +0.2%
EBITDA Margin 33.42% -9.9%
Operating Margin 30.33% +3.6%
Net Margin 20.5% +5.4%
ROE 55.71% +12.5%
ROIC 21.77% +7.9%
Debt/Equity 1.87 -1.1%
Interest Coverage 10.18 +13.9%

Technical Analysis

Key Insights

Based on financial data analysis

✓Strengths

✓Excellent 3Y average ROE of 50.7%
✓Strong Piotroski F-Score: 9/9
✓FCF machine: 27.4% free cash flow margin
✓14 consecutive years of dividend growth
✓High quality earnings: Operating CF exceeds net income
✓Healthy 5Y average net margin of 19.3%

✗Weaknesses

✗Expensive at 22.4x book value

Price & Volume

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Growth Metrics

Revenue CAGR

10Y5.03%

5Y3.68%

3Y9.2%

TTM11.45%

Profit (Net Income) CAGR

10Y7.31%

5Y5.14%

3Y9.55%

TTM15.14%

EPS CAGR

10Y9.13%

5Y5.99%

3Y10.66%

TTM18.6%

ROCE

10Y Avg23.32%

5Y Avg23.15%

3Y Avg26.49%

Latest30.37%

Peer Comparison

Legal & Business Information

Name	Market Cap	Current Price	P/E Ratio	Revenue Growth 1Y	Net Margin	ROE	FCF Yield	Debt/Equity
RELXRELX Plc	76B	41.85	40.63	2.98%	20.26%	173.97%	3.41%	1.87

Profit & Loss

	Dec 2015	Dec 2016	Dec 2017	Dec 2018	Dec 2019	Dec 2020	Dec 2021	Dec 2022	Dec 2023	Dec 2024
Sales/Revenue+	5.97B	6.89B	7.36B	7.49B	7.87B	7.11B	7.24B	8.55B	9.16B	9.43B
Revenue Growth %	0.03%	0.15%	0.07%	0.02%	0.05%	-0.1%	0.02%	0.18%	0.07%	0.03%
Cost of Goods Sold+	2.13B	2.49B	2.63B	2.64B	2.75B	2.49B	2.56B	3.04B	3.22B	3.3B
COGS % of Revenue	0.36%	0.36%	0.36%	0.35%	0.35%	0.35%	0.35%	0.36%	0.35%	0.35%
Gross Profit+	3.84B	4.41B	4.72B	4.85B	5.12B	4.62B	4.68B	5.51B	5.95B	6.13B
Gross Margin %	0.64%	0.64%	0.64%	0.65%	0.65%	0.65%	0.65%	0.64%	0.65%	0.65%
Gross Profit Growth %	0.02%	0.15%	0.07%	0.03%	0.06%	-0.1%	0.01%	0.18%	0.08%	0.03%
Operating Expenses+	2.41B	2.74B	2.86B	2.92B	3.06B	3.11B	2.83B	3.2B	3.26B	3.27B
OpEx % of Revenue	0.4%	0.4%	0.39%	0.39%	0.39%	0.44%	0.39%	0.37%	0.36%	0.35%
Selling, General & Admin	2.41B	2.74B	2.86B	2.92B	3.06B	3.11B	2.83B	3.2B	3.31B	3.32B
SG&A % of Revenue	0.4%	0.4%	0.39%	0.39%	0.39%	0.44%	0.39%	0.37%	0.36%	0.35%
Research & Development	0	189M	203M	0	0	0	295M	309M	330M	364M
R&D % of Revenue	-	0.03%	0.03%	-	-	-	0.04%	0.04%	0.04%	0.04%
Other Operating Expenses	-11M	-40M	0	0	0	0	0	0	-376M	-407M
Operating Income+	1.5B	1.71B	1.91B	1.96B	2.1B	1.52B	1.88B	2.32B	2.68B	2.86B
Operating Margin %	0.25%	0.25%	0.26%	0.26%	0.27%	0.21%	0.26%	0.27%	0.29%	0.3%
Operating Income Growth %	0.07%	0.14%	0.12%	0.03%	0.07%	-0.27%	0.24%	0.23%	0.15%	0.07%
EBITDA+	2.02B	2.31B	2.56B	2.62B	2.78B	2.37B	2.61B	3.11B	3.4B	3.15B
EBITDA Margin %	0.34%	0.33%	0.35%	0.35%	0.35%	0.33%	0.36%	0.36%	0.37%	0.33%
EBITDA Growth %	0.05%	0.14%	0.11%	0.02%	0.06%	-0.15%	0.1%	0.19%	0.09%	-0.07%
D&A (Non-Cash Add-back)	520M	599M	656M	651M	683M	843M	724M	785M	717M	292M
EBIT	1.46B	1.65B	1.9B	1.92B	2.15B	1.63B	1.92B	2.28B	2.6B	2.84B
Net Interest Income+	-170M	-183M	-191M	-200M	-309M	-159M	-133M	-183M	-293M	-272M
Interest Income	3M	8M	4M	6M	9M	3M	8M	4M	7M	9M
Interest Expense	177M	203M	186M	217M	314M	175M	150M	205M	300M	281M
Other Income/Expense	-185M	-235M	-184M	-244M	-254M	-57M	-87M	-229M	-387M	-304M
Pretax Income+	1.31B	1.47B	1.73B	1.72B	1.85B	1.47B	1.8B	2.09B	2.29B	2.56B
Pretax Margin %	0.22%	0.21%	0.24%	0.23%	0.23%	0.21%	0.25%	0.24%	0.25%	0.27%
Income Tax+	298M	304M	67M	292M	338M	275M	326M	481M	507M	613M
Effective Tax Rate %	0.77%	0.79%	0.96%	0.83%	0.81%	0.83%	0.82%	0.78%	0.78%	0.76%
Net Income+	1.01B	1.16B	1.66B	1.42B	1.5B	1.22B	1.47B	1.63B	1.78B	1.93B
Net Margin %	0.17%	0.17%	0.23%	0.19%	0.19%	0.17%	0.2%	0.19%	0.19%	0.21%
Net Income Growth %	0.06%	0.15%	0.43%	-0.14%	0.06%	-0.19%	0.2%	0.11%	0.09%	0.09%
Net Income (Continuing)	950M	1.17B	1.66B	1.4B	1.47B	1.19B	1.44B	1.61B	1.79B	1.94B
Discontinued Operations	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Minority Interest	34M	38M	21M	30M	24M	2M	-8M	-22M	-21M	23M
EPS (Diluted)+	0.46	0.56	0.81	0.71	0.77	0.63	0.76	0.85	0.94	1.03
EPS Growth %	0.07%	0.22%	0.45%	-0.12%	0.08%	-0.18%	0.21%	0.12%	0.11%	0.1%
EPS (Basic)	0.46	0.56	0.82	0.72	0.77	0.64	0.76	0.85	0.94	1.03
Diluted Shares Outstanding	2.13B	2.08B	2.04B	1.99B	1.96B	1.94B	1.94B	1.93B	1.9B	1.88B
Basic Shares Outstanding	2.11B	2.06B	2.02B	1.98B	1.94B	1.93B	1.93B	1.92B	1.9B	1.88B
Dividend Payout Ratio	0.58%	0.59%	0.46%	0.56%	0.56%	0.72%	0.63%	0.6%	0.59%	0.58%

Balance Sheet

	Dec 2015	Dec 2016	Dec 2017	Dec 2018	Dec 2019	Dec 2020	Dec 2021	Dec 2022	Dec 2023	Dec 2024
Total Current Assets+	1.93B	2.35B	2.16B	2.35B	2.44B	2.27B	2.36B	3.07B	2.87B	3B
Cash & Short-Term Investments	122M	162M	111M	114M	138M	88M	113M	334M	155M	119M
Cash Only	122M	162M	111M	114M	138M	88M	113M	334M	155M	119M
Short-Term Investments	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Accounts Receivable	1.6B	2.02B	1.66B	1.79B	2.07B	1.93B	1.96B	2.4B	2.03B	2.47B
Days Sales Outstanding	97.87	106.67	82.38	87.26	95.82	98.92	98.76	102.63	80.84	95.45
Inventory	158M	209M	197M	212M	217M	0	253M	309M	318M	331M
Days Inventory Outstanding	27.09	30.66	27.33	29.27	28.75	-	36.04	37.04	36.09	36.61
Other Current Assets	46M	1.98B	29M	11M	51M	63M	41M	36M	84M	35M
Total Non-Current Assets+	9.26B	10.97B	10.12B	11.65B	11.34B	11.87B	11.5B	12.76B	12.04B	12.14B
Property, Plant & Equipment	229M	242M	209M	461M	444M	378M	292M	271M	212M	171M
Fixed Asset Turnover	26.07x	28.49x	35.19x	16.25x	17.73x	18.81x	24.81x	31.56x	43.21x	55.17x
Goodwill	5.23B	6.39B	5.96B	6.9B	6.82B	7.22B	7.37B	8.39B	8.02B	8.22B
Intangible Assets	3.16B	3.6B	3.19B	3.53B	3.45B	3.42B	3.3B	3.52B	3.24B	3.16B
Long-Term Investments	293M	288M	329M	292M	340M	527M	283M	302M	275M	261M
Other Non-Current Assets	0	0	22M	6M	45M	47M	46M	129M	295M	325M
Total Assets+	11.19B	13.32B	12.28B	14B	13.79B	14.14B	13.86B	15.83B	14.92B	15.13B
Asset Turnover	0.53x	0.52x	0.60x	0.54x	0.57x	0.50x	0.52x	0.54x	0.61x	0.62x
Asset Growth %	0.01%	0.19%	-0.08%	0.14%	-0.02%	0.03%	-0.02%	0.14%	-0.06%	0.01%
Total Current Liabilities+	4.18B	5.31B	4.53B	5.33B	5.95B	4.37B	3.75B	5.19B	5.49B	5.72B
Accounts Payable	244M	297M	240M	187M	173M	154M	109M	129M	171M	223M
Days Payables Outstanding	41.83	43.57	33.3	25.82	22.92	22.6	15.53	15.46	19.41	24.67
Short-Term Debt	618M	1.16B	673M	1.3B	1.97B	755M	163M	803M	1.26B	1.37B
Deferred Revenue (Current)	-1000K	-1000K	-1000K	-1000K	1000K	1000K	1000K	1000K	0	0
Other Current Liabilities	2.69B	1.29B	975M	2.91B	830M	619M	592M	817M	2.99B	184M
Current Ratio	0.46x	0.44x	0.48x	0.44x	0.41x	0.52x	0.63x	0.59x	0.52x	0.52x
Quick Ratio	0.42x	0.40x	0.43x	0.40x	0.37x	0.52x	0.56x	0.53x	0.47x	0.47x
Cash Conversion Cycle	83.12	93.76	76.41	90.71	101.65	-	119.27	124.21	97.52	107.39
Total Non-Current Liabilities+	4.82B	5.66B	5.38B	6.32B	5.65B	7.67B	6.89B	6.89B	5.99B	5.91B
Long-Term Debt	3.27B	3.68B	4.19B	4.71B	4.11B	6.09B	5.8B	5.75B	5.1B	5.07B
Capital Lease Obligations	9M	0	302M	268M	249M	183M	139M	115M	84M	65M
Deferred Tax Liabilities	1B	1.14B	738M	830M	593M	665M	591M	590M	473M	0
Other Non-Current Liabilities	544M	840M	426M	512M	705M	729M	360M	438M	331M	779M
Total Liabilities	9.01B	10.96B	9.91B	11.64B	11.6B	12.04B	10.63B	12.07B	11.48B	11.63B
Total Debt+	3.9B	4.84B	4.89B	6.37B	6.41B	7.12B	6.17B	6.73B	6.5B	6.54B
Net Debt	3.78B	4.68B	4.78B	6.25B	6.28B	7.04B	6.05B	6.4B	6.34B	6.42B
Debt / Equity	1.79x	2.05x	2.06x	2.70x	2.93x	3.39x	1.91x	1.79x	1.89x	1.87x
Debt / EBITDA	1.93x	2.10x	1.91x	2.43x	2.30x	3.01x	2.36x	2.17x	1.91x	2.08x
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.87x	2.03x	1.86x	2.39x	2.25x	2.97x	2.32x	2.06x	1.87x	2.04x
Interest Coverage	8.46x	8.41x	10.24x	9.05x	6.69x	8.71x	12.56x	11.33x	8.94x	10.18x
Total Equity+	2.18B	2.36B	2.37B	2.36B	2.19B	2.1B	3.22B	3.75B	3.44B	3.5B
Equity Growth %	0.02%	0.08%	0.01%	-0.01%	-0.07%	-0.04%	0.53%	0.16%	-0.08%	0.02%
Book Value per Share	1.02	1.13	1.17	1.18	1.12	1.08	1.66	1.95	1.81	1.87
Total Shareholders' Equity	2.14B	2.32B	2.35B	2.33B	2.17B	2.1B	3.23B	3.78B	3.46B	3.48B
Common Stock	224M	226M	224M	290M	286M	286M	286M	279M	275M	272M
Retained Earnings	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Treasury Stock	-1.39B	-1.47B	-1.63B	-734M	-834M	-887M	-876M	-414M	-553M	-722M
Accumulated OCI	1.58B	562M	595M	1.36B	1.27B	1.24B	2.33B	2.39B	0	0
Minority Interest	34M	38M	21M	30M	24M	2M	-8M	-22M	-21M	23M

Cash Flow

	Dec 2015	Dec 2016	Dec 2017	Dec 2018	Dec 2019	Dec 2020	Dec 2021	Dec 2022	Dec 2023	Dec 2024
Cash from Operations+	1.41B	1.68B	1.85B	1.99B	2.09B	1.6B	2.02B	2.4B	2.46B	2.61B
Operating CF Margin %	0.24%	0.24%	0.25%	0.26%	0.27%	0.22%	0.28%	0.28%	0.27%	0.28%
Operating CF Growth %	0.02%	0.2%	0.1%	0.07%	0.05%	-0.24%	0.26%	0.19%	0.02%	0.06%
Net Income	1.31B	1.71B	1.91B	1.96B	2.1B	1.52B	1.88B	2.32B	1.78B	1.93B
Depreciation & Amortization	520M	599M	585M	651M	683M	843M	724M	713M	717M	783M
Stock-Based Compensation	34M	38M	39M	41M	32M	25M	45M	46M	56M	66M
Deferred Taxes	-528M	-786M	-816M	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Non-Cash Items	174M	195M	182M	-602M	-676M	-683M	-489M	-607M	17M	-29M
Working Capital Changes	-105M	-72M	-47M	-69M	-51M	-114M	-148M	-74M	-114M	-146M
Change in Receivables	-150M	-146M	37M	-89M	-116M	149M	-103M	-251M	-24M	0
Change in Inventory	-17M	-24M	2M	-7M	-14M	-18M	-13M	-103M	-90M	0
Change in Payables	62M	98M	-76M	27M	79M	-245M	-32M	280M	-1M	0
Cash from Investing+	-422M	-668M	-422M	-1.27B	-733M	-1.17B	-384M	-859M	-569M	-575M
Capital Expenditures	-307M	-333M	-354M	-362M	-380M	-362M	-337M	-436M	-30M	-20M
CapEx % of Revenue	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0%	0%
Acquisitions	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Investments	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other Investing	58M	45M	39M	-272M	-297M	-288M	-284M	33M	-419M	-385M
Cash from Financing+	-1.12B	-1B	-1.47B	-713M	-1.33B	-474M	-1.61B	-1.33B	-2.06B	-2.06B
Debt Issued (Net)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Equity Issued (Net)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dividends Paid	-583M	-683M	-762M	-796M	-842M	-880M	-920M	-983M	-1.06B	-1.12B
Share Repurchases	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other Financing	16M	360M	-56M	174M	-111M	-80M	-71M	-62M	-77M	500M
Net Change in Cash	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Free Cash Flow+	1.1B	1.35B	1.49B	1.62B	1.71B	1.23B	1.68B	1.97B	1.98B	2.59B
FCF Margin %	0.18%	0.2%	0.2%	0.22%	0.22%	0.17%	0.23%	0.23%	0.22%	0.27%
FCF Growth %	-0.01%	0.23%	0.11%	0.09%	0.05%	-0.28%	0.36%	0.17%	0.01%	0.31%
FCF per Share	0.52	0.65	0.73	0.82	0.87	0.64	0.87	1.02	1.04	1.38
FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income)	1.40x	1.45x	1.11x	1.40x	1.39x	1.30x	1.37x	1.47x	1.38x	1.35x
Interest Paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	257M
Taxes Paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Key Ratios

Metric	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Return on Equity (ROE)	46.72%	51.19%	70.12%	60.09%	66.17%	57.05%	55.25%	46.83%	49.52%	55.71%
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)	19.28%	19.71%	20.14%	18.69%	18.46%	13%	15.35%	17.94%	20.18%	21.77%
Gross Margin	64.34%	63.92%	64.23%	64.71%	65.01%	65.02%	64.63%	64.4%	64.89%	65.02%
Net Margin	16.88%	16.84%	22.56%	18.98%	19.11%	17.22%	20.31%	19.1%	19.44%	20.5%
Debt / Equity	1.79x	2.05x	2.06x	2.70x	2.93x	3.39x	1.91x	1.79x	1.89x	1.87x
Interest Coverage	8.46x	8.41x	10.24x	9.05x	6.69x	8.71x	12.56x	11.33x	8.94x	10.18x
FCF Conversion	1.40x	1.45x	1.11x	1.40x	1.39x	1.30x	1.37x	1.47x	1.38x	1.35x
Revenue Growth	3.43%	15.47%	6.67%	1.86%	5.1%	-9.7%	1.88%	18.07%	7.11%	2.98%

Revenue by Segment

	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Electronic	5.4B	-	-	-	-	-	7.63B	7.82B
Electronic Growth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2.61%
Face To Face	1.12B	-	-	-	-	-	1.06B	1.19B
Face To Face Growth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12.17%
Print	834M	-	-	-	-	-	476M	421M
Print Growth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-11.55%
Subscriptions	3.81B	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Subscriptions Growth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Transactional	3.45B	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Transactional Growth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Advertising	98M	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Advertising Growth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Revenue by Geography

	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
North America	-	4.01B	4.31B	4.19B	4.2B	5B	5.39B	5.5B
North America Growth	-	-	7.35%	-2.69%	0.29%	18.98%	7.68%	2.02%
Europe	-	2.79B	2.83B	2.44B	2.55B	2.97B	1.91B	2.02B
Europe Growth	-	-	1.51%	-13.98%	4.56%	16.76%	-35.84%	6.13%
Rest Of World	-	689M	734M	482M	493M	577M	1.87B	1.91B
Rest Of World Growth	-	-	6.53%	-34.33%	2.28%	17.04%	223.57%	2.52%

Frequently Asked Questions

Valuation & Price

RELX Plc (RELX) has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 40.6x. This suggests investors expect higher future growth.

Growth & Financials

RELX Plc (RELX) reported $18.84B in revenue for fiscal year 2024. This represents a 493% increase from $3.18B in 2011.

RELX Plc (RELX) grew revenue by 3.0% over the past year. Growth has been modest.

Yes, RELX Plc (RELX) is profitable, generating $3.82B in net income for fiscal year 2024 (20.5% net margin).

Dividend & Returns

Yes, RELX Plc (RELX) pays a dividend with a yield of 1.43%. This makes it attractive for income-focused investors.

RELX Plc (RELX) has a return on equity (ROE) of 55.7%. This is excellent, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.

RELX Plc (RELX) generated $5.03B in free cash flow for fiscal year 2024. Positive FCF indicates the company can fund dividends, buybacks, or reinvestment.

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