British information and analytics company RELX could see a breakout as broader market uncertainty grows, according to Barclays. “We think RELX offers reliable growth in an environment where relative safe havens may be needed,” analyst Nick Dempsey wrote in a Friday note. “The shares are not cheap vs history but not out of line with info services peers.” Dempsey upgraded RELX to overweight from equal weight. U.S.-listed shares of the company were up about 1% following the upgrade. Year to date, they are up more than 5% and trade at 36 times trailing earnings, well above the S & P 500’s multiple of 24. REL-GB YTD mountain RELX stock in 2025. The rating change comes during a tough time for U.S. stocks. The S & P 500 tipped into correction territory on Thursday, ending the day 10% below a record set in February, as escalating trade tensions drive investors out of U.S. equities. But Dempsey sees RELX holding up better than most during a possible recession. Looking at a “2008/2009-style recession scenario,” he concluded that “RELX could potentially see 7% 2026 adjusted EPS downside (excluding FX), if 2025/2026 play out like 2008/2009. So not counter-cyclical or completely immune – but a low impact.” “It is hard to argue that RELX is extremely cheap. … But, we believe it offers extremely high-quality growth for many years to come (we have an average of just under 11.0% constant FX EPS growth going forward), with potential for that growth to improve.”
