Thomson Reuters Prints Today With Woodbridge Still Watching

Thomson Reuters reports third-quarter results on November 3, having recovered sharply from a bruising October to arrive at the print up 22% for the month, with the controlling Thomson family still sitting on a substantial block of sales executed at prices well below where the stock trades today.

The price action tells a complicated story. Shares closed Monday at C$170.41, up 3% on the day, yet the stock is barely flat on the week after a rough patch earlier in October. The month-long 22% rally is the dominant fact about TRI's setup. Peers have moved more modestly: BR and VRSK each gained around 2% on Monday, while EXLS added 2.7%. TRI's Monday gain kept pace with the peer group, but the weekly picture diverges, with most peers posting small gains against TRI's marginal decline.

The ownership dynamic, flagged in earlier coverage, has shifted in tone now that the stock has risen so far. The Woodbridge Company, the Thomson family vehicle with a 70.7% stake, sold roughly 1.5 million net shares across August at prices in the C$143 to C$150 range. The stock closed yesterday at C$170.41, well above those sale prices. Separately, Thomson Investments Limited filed a Schedule 13D amendment in April disclosing a 70.56% stake. The 13D classification reflects controlling-shareholder status rather than adversarial activism, but the register entry is worth flagging. Per filing rules, the April figure is now over 200 days old, and positions are as-last-disclosed.

The short-selling picture is quiet. Short interest runs at just 0.6% of the free float, and borrow costs are negligible at 0.63%. Availability is ample at 274%, meaning roughly three shares remain available to borrow for every two already out on loan. There is no sign of pressure from the lending market in either direction.

A recent note on TRI highlighted that analysts saw 28% upside to price targets alongside 14% EBITDA growth and 12% organic recurring revenue gains in legal and tax segments. The valuation has re-rated sharply: the price-to-earnings multiple has expanded by more than five points over the past 30 days to 25.4x, and EV/EBITDA has moved up a full turn over the same period to 16.3x. The forward earnings score ranks in the 80th percentile, reflecting meaningful upward revisions to estimates. The question the print will test is whether the legal and tax segments can sustain the organic growth rate that drove those revisions, at margins that justify a valuation now running well ahead of where the family sold in August.