Fresh AI Disruption Selloff Hits Thomson Reuters Despite Strong Results
(Bloomberg) — Thomson Reuters Corp. Its shares fell despite positive first-quarter results after Anthropic PBC announced new AI agents designed to handle a broader mix of financial services tasks.
Shares rebounded after Tuesday morning’s earnings report, then reversed course, falling as much as 5.1% after Anthropic’s announcement dragged its industry peers lower. It fell 2% to C$127.94 as of 2:21 p.m. in Toronto.
Thomson Reuters’ principal businesses provide databases, software and other products to legal and accounting professionals. The stock’s volatility over the past few months shows how sensitive investors are to the risks that AI models could hurt sales and margins.
Thomson Reuters shares fell to a record low on Feb. 3 after Anthropic announced a productivity tool that will help automate legal work for companies. This sparked concerns that Thomson Reuters would lose market share to AI-powered newcomers, and shares closed up nearly 16%.
Shares later rebounded when CoCounsel, the company’s artificial intelligence tool for lawyers, took the stage at a briefing hosted by Anthropic, where Chief Executive Officer Steve Hasker also presented. Thomson Reuters announced on the same day, February 24, that CoCounsel reached 1 million users.
Hasker told analysts during its earnings call that it continues to see “broad-based positive signs” in terms of customer retention, with Thomson Reuters confirming its full-year revenue forecast on Tuesday. “So there is nothing new or concerning in terms of customers moving away from our content-focused technology products.”
An updated, active version of CoCounsel is in testing and plans to launch in the third quarter, the company said.
Thomson Reuters earned $1.27 per share on an adjusted basis in the first quarter; That was above the $1.21 a Bloomberg analyst survey expected. Revenue of $2.09 billion also beat expectations.
In an interview, Hasker acknowledged that it could take “a few quarters” for investors to regain confidence in the stock. “And I think that first quarter result really helps,” he said. “I think this shows our customers’ confidence in our products and our offering.”
Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, competes with Thomson Reuters in providing financial data and news.
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