RELX (LSE:REL) has reassured investors with a nine-month update showing 7% underlying Revenue growth and an unchanged full-year outlook. For income investors, the statement offers support for a Dividend record stretching back 33 years, at a time when analysts are debating how artificial intelligence will affect information businesses.

A steady update in October

The October trading update reported underlying revenue growth of 7% over the first nine months of 2026, led by the Legal and Risk divisions, and the group reaffirmed its full-year outlook. Reports also pointed to support for growth from artificial intelligence.

That AI point is significant. Investors have been asking whether new tools threaten the value of professional data and analytics, or whether they enhance it by making proprietary content more useful. The latest figures do not settle the wider argument, but growth led by Legal, an area often discussed in this debate, is at least a helpful data point for those on the optimistic side.

The dividend in numbers

A snapshot from 7 October 2026 puts RELX's annual dividend at 67.5p a share, with the latest payment at 20.9p. The trailing 12-month Yield is 2.7%, and the indicated yield is also 2.7%. Neither is high by the standards of the FTSE 100, which reflects a market that has tended to value RELX for its growth rather than its income.

Dividend growth of 7.1% year on year closely mirrors the 7% underlying revenue growth in the latest update. Although the two figures measure different things and the timing does not align exactly, the similarity is a useful illustration: the dividend appears to be growing broadly in line with the business, rather than running ahead of it.

The trailing Payout Ratio of 55.0% means that slightly more than half of Earnings went to dividends, leaving cover of about 1.8 times. That is a moderate level. It is not as conservative as some growth companies, yet it still leaves meaningful headroom, and it is sustainable in principle provided earnings continue to advance.

The longer-term data is the standout part of the case. RELX has paid dividends continuously for 33 years and has increased its payout for nine straight years. The gap between those numbers shows that there has been at least one year in the past when the dividend failed to rise, but a third of a century of unbroken payments is still a substantial record of reliability.

Buybacks add to the return

Dividends are only part of the picture. RELX (LSE:REL) has launched a further £125m share buyback running through to 2 December and has cancelled 87 million treasury shares. Regular announcements of repurchases have become a familiar feature of the group's Capital returns.

Reducing the share count has a direct bearing on income investors. With fewer shares in issue, the same total dividend bill can support a higher payment per share, so a buyback may help to underpin future dividend growth even though it does not provide immediate cash to those who continue to hold.

What to watch

The next tests are the conclusion of the current buyback Tranche in early December, any decision on a further programme and the full-year results, when the final dividend will be set. Investors should look for whether the Legal and Risk divisions continue to lead growth and for further evidence on how AI is affecting demand. A final payment that keeps annual dividend growth close to the current rate of 7.1% would extend the nine-year streak and suggest that the pace of the Business is still feeding through to shareholders.