Experian hails AI benefits as lifts annual guidance, hikes dividend
Experian PLC on Wednesday raised its guidance for financial 2026 revenue growth and margin improvement, saying ‘AI-driven automation and personalisation’ is transforming its customer relationships and internal processes.
The Dublin-based credit checking firm said pretax profit rose 36% to $975 million in the six months that ended September 30 from $718 million a year before, as revenue grew by 12% to $4.07 billion from $3.63 billion.
Benchmark earnings before interest and tax increased by 14% to $1.15 billion from $999 million. Benchmark Ebit margin improved by 50 basis points at constant currency and 30 points at actual rates.
Organic revenue growth was 8%, led by demand for data, analytics, and consumer services. Experian provides consumer credit score checking, fraud detection, and credit application processing, among other data services.
Chief Executive Officer Brian Cassin said Experian delivered ‘strong growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow’ and remains on track with its cloud migration and AI-driven transformation. ‘We have enhanced our product platforms, deepened consumer relationships and transformed customer experiences and internal processes through AI-driven automation and personalisation,’ he said.
The company now expects financial 2026 total revenue growth of 11%, slightly slower than what it achieved in the first half but at the top end of its prior guidance. Organic revenue growth is expected to be 8%, the same as the first-half performance but up from previous guidance of 6% to 8%. Margin accretion is expected to be 30 to 50 basis points, also similar to the first-half performance.
Experian declared an interim dividend of 21.25 US cents per share, up 10% from 19.25 US cents a year prior.
The stock was down 1.5% to 3,428.50 pence early Wednesday in London.
Panmure Liberum said Experian’s half-year results were slightly ahead of a tight range of market expectations, which it said will drive small analyst upgrades for the full year.
The broker has a ’buy’ rating and 4,450p price target on Experian shares.
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