Quick Verdict
Thomson Reuters reported adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $1.833 billion, up 10% year over year. The Thomson Reuters Corporation Q3 2026 Earnings release missed some analyst forecasts despite stronger sales and an updated outlook. Shares fell approximately 9.9% on November 3 as investors weighed AI investment costs, margin pressure, and weaker cash generation.
About Thomson Reuters Corporation
Thomson Reuters Corporation (Nasdaq: TRI; TSX: TRI) is a Toronto-headquartered content and technology company serving legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media professionals. The modern company was formed in 2008 when The Thomson Corporation combined with Reuters Group; Reuters’ historical roots extend to 1851. Its portfolio includes the Westlaw legal research platform, CoCounsel AI tools, tax and accounting software, and the Reuters news agency. The company employed approximately 27,100 people in 2025, the latest annual headcount identified in the reviewed sources.
Its business increasingly combines specialized information with subscription software and AI-assisted workflows. Recurring revenue represented 88% of third-quarter 2026 sales, supporting a relatively predictable revenue base. Thomson Reuters had approximately 433.5 million common shares outstanding on October 30 and an annualized dividend of $2.62 per share. A consistently timestamped market capitalization, current P/E ratio, and dividend yield were not verified; no valuation estimate is substituted here.
Top Financial Highlights
- Total revenue: $1.833 billion, up 10% on the company’s reported, rounded growth measure; organic revenue also increased 10%.
- Net income: $339 million, down from $423 million a year earlier. Continuing-operations earnings were $289 million, versus $364 million.
- Earnings per share: Adjusted EPS increased 14% to $0.81, while IFRS diluted EPS declined 17% to $0.78, including discontinued operations.
- Gross margin: Not separately disclosed in the reviewed release. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 35.5%, down 30 basis points; this is not a substitute for gross margin.
- Adjusted EBITDA: $651 million, up 10% from $593 million
- Operating cash flow: $599 million, down 15%; continuing-operations operating cash flow was $547 million, versus $635 million.
- Free cash flow: $408 million, down 23% from $526 million, including continuing and discontinued operations.
- Legal Professionals revenue: $788 million, up 9%, with organic growth also at 9%.
- Corporates revenue: $544 million, up 11%, including 10% organic growth.
- Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals revenue: $276 million, up 11%, including 10% organic growth.
- Reuters revenue: $232 million, up 12%, supported partly by generative-AI content licensing.
- Cash on hand: $1.394 billion at September 30, 2026, compared with $511 million at December 31, 2025.
- Next-quarter guidance: Q4 organic revenue growth of approximately 8% and an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 42%.
- Full-year guidance: Approximately 9.5% total revenue growth, 8.5%–9.0% organic growth, approximately 39% adjusted EBITDA margin, and approximately $2.1 billion in free cash flow. The updated revenue and margin outlook excludes Global Print; free cash flow includes discontinued operations.
- Portfolio and capital allocation: The company completed its $600 million share-repurchase program and sold a 51% stake in Global Print on October 1 for approximately $500 million in gross proceeds, retaining 49%. Those sale proceeds arrived after the quarter-end cash measurement.
Beat or Miss?
The result was mixed: adjusted EPS missed the identified analyst benchmarks, while revenue beat one published estimate set. Revenue expectations are not consistent across the reviewed coverage, so a universal revenue-beat claim would overstate the evidence. Management’s statement that results exceeded its own expectations is distinct from beating Wall Street consensus.
| Metric | Reported | Difference/Analysis |
| Revenue | $1.833 billion | Seeking Alpha reported an approximately $30 million beat. Separate MarketScreener commentary characterized revenue as a miss, indicating differing benchmarks or comparison bases. |
| Adjusted EPS—FactSet benchmark | $0.81 | Missed the $0.83 forecast reported by Dow Jones by $0.02. |
| Adjusted EPS—Seeking Alpha benchmark | $0.81 | Missed that publication’s benchmark by $0.04, implying a $0.85 estimate. |
| IFRS diluted EPS | $0.78 | Comparable analyst estimate: N/A in the verified sources. Down from $0.94 a year earlier. |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 35.50% | Management said margins exceeded its prior expectations, but the release did not quantify that internal benchmark. Margin declined 30 basis points year over year. |
The Global Print disposal also complicates comparisons. Thomson Reuters revised prior-year figures and updated guidance to present continuing operations, meaning older forecasts that included Global Print may not be directly comparable with the new reporting basis.
What Leadership Is Saying
“We are confident in the growing success of our innovation engine, which positions us well to deliver sustainable growth and long-term value for shareholders.”
— Steve Hasker, president and CEO, in the earnings release. Hasker highlighted customer engagement with CoCounsel Legal, the next generation of CoCounsel Tax, Audit & Accounting, and commercial discussions around Thomson LLM.
A verbatim CFO quotation about financial results or margins was not available in the verified release or reporting reviewed. Reuters did report that CFO Gary E. Bischoping Jr. said approximately 34% of the company’s underlying contract value relied on generative AI in Q3, compared with 32% in Q2 and 24% a year earlier. This is a paraphrase, not a direct quotation.
Historical Performance
Figures below are in U.S. dollars. Prior-year continuing-operations figures reflect the company’s revised presentation following the Global Print transaction. Percentage changes are calculated from the displayed rounded figures and may differ slightly from company-reported percentages.
| Category | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change (%) |
| Revenue—continuing operations | $1,833 million | $1,658 million | 10.60% |
| Net income—including discontinued operations | $339 million | $423 million | −19.9% |
| Earnings—continuing operations | $289 million | $364 million | −20.6% |
| Operating expenses—separate income-statement line, excluding separately presented depreciation and amortization | $1,181 million | $1,070 million | 10.40% |
| Operating profit | $402 million | $517 million | −22.2% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $651 million | $593 million | 9.80% |
| Operating cash flow—including discontinued operations | $599 million | $704 million | −14.9% |
The decline in operating profit does not mean underlying sales weakened. The prior-year quarter benefited from a gain on the sale of the remaining Elite investment, while 2026 also carried higher software amortization. Adjusted EBITDA excludes those effects and increased, although its margin narrowed. Operating cash flow fell as unfavorable working-capital movements and higher tax payments outweighed operating growth.
How the Market Reacted?
U.S.-listed Thomson Reuters shares fell approximately 9.9% on November 3, according to Reuters’ end-of-session market report. Earlier company-specific reporting showed shares down 7% at $113.46 on Nasdaq; that was an intraday observation, not the closing price. Investors focused on AI investment costs and margin pressure despite double-digit revenue growth and the updated outlook. The reaction was therefore bearish on near-term profitability, rather than evidence of weakening demand for the company’s products.
Additional recent-data links are available through the company’s earnings release and press-release feed, Reuters’ November 3 company coverage, RELX’s October trading update, and Wolters Kluwer’s results hub; the citations below open those sources.
