Thomson Reuters reported a 9% increase in second-quarter revenue,reaching $1.95 billion. The Toronto-based firm surpassed Wall Street expectations and subsequently raised its full-year organic revenue growth outlook.

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$1.95 billion in revenue beats Wall Street expectations

Thomson Reuters achieved a 9% revenue increase in its second quarter, according to a report from Thomson Reuters. The company's total revenue reached $1.95 billion, which exceeded the $1.9 billion anticipated by analysts. this growth was primarily driven by strong performance in the legal, corporate, and tax and accounting segments.

Earnings per share for Thomson Reuters reached 99 cents for the quarter, excluding specific items. This figure outperformed the 96 cents predicted by Wall Street, signaling robust operational efficiency despite broader market volatility.

The pivot from Global Print to "fiduciary-grade AI"

Thomson Reuters is aggressively transitioning its business model toward digital services and specializzed artificial intelligence. As reported by Thomson Reuters, the company recently sold a 51% stake in its Global Print business to form a joint venture with KKR. This move is designed to free up resources for the development of "fiiduciary-grade AI" solutions.

CEO Steve Hasker emphasized that the company's second-half priority is deepening its leadership in AI that produces verifiable and auditable results. To support this, Thomson Reuters is launching a proprietary large language model trained on high-value datasets, including Westlaw, Practical Law, Checkpoint, and Reuters content.

A 15.28% year-to-date drop amid Anthropic-driven fears

Thomson Reuters shares have struggled in the market, falling 15.28% since the start of the year. This underperformance stands in stark contrast to the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which has climbed 12.35% during the same period. The decline reflects a broader selloff in professional services and data stocks as investors worry about disruptive technology.

The market's anxiety regarding Thomson Reuters stems from the rise of AI newcomers like Anthropic, which threaten to challenge established data providers. while Thomson Reuters is raising its full-year organic revenue forecast to approximately 8%, investors remain cautious about whether legacy players can maintain their moat against agile, AI-native competitors.

Can Westlaw and Reuters content defend against AI newcomers?

The success of the Thomson Reuters AI strategy depends on whether its proprietary data remains an insurmountable advantage. While the company is leveraging its vast archives from Westlaw and Checkpoint to train new models, it remains to be seen if these "fiduciary-grade" tools can prevent clients from migrating to more general-purpose or cheaper AI alternatives. The current reporting focuses heavily on Thomson Reuters' defensive maneuvers, leaving the specific counter-strategies of AI startups like Anthropic largely unexamined.

Furthermore, the market is waiting to see if the joint venture with KKR will successfully offload the costs of the legacy print business without disrupting the company's core digital growth. It is also unclear how much the current 8% organic revenue forecast can be exceeded if the competitive pressure from AI startups intensifies throughout the remainder of the year.