Thomson Reuters Corporation (NYSE:TRI) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript February 8, 2024

Thomson Reuters Corporation beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $0.98, expectations were $0.92. Thomson Reuters Corporation isn’t one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).

Operator: Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Thomson Reuters Q4 2023Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Gary Bisbee. Please go ahead, sir.

Gary Bisbee: Thank you, Jennifer. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today for our fourth quarter 2023 earnings call. I'm joined today by our CEO, Steve Hasker; and our CFO, Mike Eastwood, each of whom will discuss our results and take your questions following their remarks. [Operator Instructions] Throughout today's presentation, when we compare performance period-on-period, we discuss revenue growth rates before currency as well as on an organic basis. We believe this provides the best basis to measure the underlying performance of the business. Today's presentation contains forward-looking statements and non-IFRS financial measures. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties discussed in reports and filings that we provide to regulatory agencies. You may access these documents on our website or by contacting our Investor Relations department. Let me now turn it over to Steve Hasker.

Steve Hasker: Thank you, Gary, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. 2023 was a year of continued progress at Thomson Reuters. So let me start by reviewing some of our key accomplishments. Firstly, we delivered another year of good financial results meeting or exceeding our key financial targets. Full year organic revenue grew 6% with the fourth quarter growing at 7%. The Big 3 segments also accelerated in Q4, growing 8% versus 7% for the full year, despite lingering inflationary pressures and heavy investment. Our full year adjusted EBITDA margin rose by 420 basis points to 39.3%, and we delivered $1.9 billion of free cash flow, slightly ahead of target. Although the macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop remains uncertain, we have many areas of strength in our portfolio.

Westlaw Precision’s strong performance continues. Our international businesses maintain their growth trajectory in the teams, and we have many other products delivering double-digit revenue growth, including Practical Law, Confirmation, SurePrep, and HighQ 2023 saw significant and important progress from an innovation perspective. The clear highlight was our efforts around generative AI, culminating in the November launch of the AI assisted research capability within Westlaw Precision. But the progress is far broader than just Westlaw. We have integrated our new colleagues from the August acquisition of Casetext, launched CoCounsel Core to extend the reach of case texts legal AI assistant offering, and we are working to deliver against a robust product roadmap that includes several key launches in the next few months.