Wolters Kluwer Doubles Down on AI Amid Strong Growth and New Leadership

ALPHEN AAN DEN RIJN, February 25, 2026 – Wolters Kluwer today announced a robust financial performance for 2025, with revenues climbing to €6.1 billion on the back of 6% organic growth. However, the headline numbers only tell part of the story. The professional information giant is aggressively accelerating its pivot into an AI-driven powerhouse, marked by a significant increase in planned technology investment, strategic acquisitions, and a pivotal leadership transition.

The company's strong results, including a 9% rise in diluted adjusted EPS and an expanded adjusted operating profit margin of 27.5%, provide the financial firepower for this ambitious transformation. As outgoing CEO Nancy McKinstry prepares to pass the baton, incoming CEO Stacey Caywood is set to inherit a company poised to redefine professional workflows with advanced artificial intelligence.

The AI Mandate: From Strategy to Product

At the heart of Wolters Kluwer's strategy is "Expert AI," an approach that combines its vast reserves of proprietary, trusted content with cutting-edge generative and agentic AI. This isn't a theoretical exercise; the company is rapidly deploying these capabilities across its product portfolio, supported by its patent-pending AI-Enablement platform, "Foundation & Beyond" (FAB).

In her comments, retiring CEO Nancy McKinstry noted the progress already made, stating, “Nearly 70% of our digital revenues are from AI-powered solutions and we are well positioned to drive future growth with advanced AI combined with our deep domain expertise and trusted proprietary content.”

The impact is becoming tangible for professionals in the field:
* In Health, the UpToDate® Expert AI tool, a conversational AI interface launched in October 2025, is seeing rapid adoption. Grounded exclusively in the platform's peer-reviewed clinical content to ensure reliability, it has already been adopted by approximately one-third of Wolters Kluwer's largest U.S. institutional customers, covering around 1,600 hospitals.
* In Tax & Accounting, the CCH Axcess™ Expert AI suite is embedding agentic AI to automate complex workflows and enhance decision-making. With recurring cloud software revenues in the division growing 18%, the demand for such efficiency tools is clear.
* In Legal & Regulatory, the November 2025 acquisition of German AI startup Libra is being integrated to create an AI-powered workspace for legal drafting, review, and research, demonstrating a strategy of acquiring technology to accelerate development.

This push is central to the vision of incoming CEO Stacey Caywood. “I am excited to lead Wolters Kluwer at a time when AI technology offers us new growth opportunities," she stated. "My immediate priority is to accelerate our AI offerings, expand partnerships, and intensify our go-to-market capabilities."

Balancing Innovation with Financial Discipline

This aggressive AI investment is underpinned by a foundation of exceptional financial health. The company reported adjusted free cash flow of €1.35 billion, up 10% in constant currencies, providing ample room for both strategic reinvestment and robust shareholder returns.

Demonstrating this balance, Wolters Kluwer announced its intention to increase annual product development spending to a range of 12-13% of revenues in 2026, a significant step up from the 11% invested in 2025. This move is explicitly designed to "further advance our AI strategy."

Simultaneously, the company remains committed to rewarding its investors. It has proposed an 8% increase in its 2025 dividend to €2.52 per share, continuing its progressive dividend policy. Furthermore, following a €1.1 billion share buyback in 2025, a new program of up to €500 million has been announced for 2026.

The growth was broad-based, with the Tax & Accounting and Corporate Performance & ESG divisions leading the way with 7% organic growth each. The Health division posted a solid 5% organic growth, driven by a 7% expansion in its Clinical Solutions unit. Overall recurring revenues, which now represent 83% of the total, grew 7% organically, highlighting the stability of the company's subscription-based model.

A New Era of Leadership and Strategic Focus

The 2025 report marks a significant moment of transition. Nancy McKinstry, who has guided the company through its transformation into a digital-first enterprise, is retiring. Her tenure culminates with the company firmly positioned in the AI landscape.

Stacey Caywood's appointment signals an intent to build on this foundation with increased pace and focus. Her plan to "step up product development spend in 2026, while simultaneously delivering a further margin increase" reflects a confident and aggressive growth posture.

This strategic sharpening is also evident in the company's recent portfolio management. The divestment of its Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR) unit for nearly €400 million streamlines operations, while acquisitions like Brightflag (legal spend management) and RASi (registered agent services) bolster its position in high-growth market segments. The acquisition of Libra, in particular, underscores the focus on embedding advanced AI directly into its core legal offerings.

Navigating Market Dynamics and ESG Commitments

While the company's digital transformation is accelerating, it continues to manage the decline of its legacy print business, which reduced overall organic growth by 50 basis points. However, with digital revenues now accounting for 86% of the total and cloud software revenue growing 15% organically, the future trajectory is clear.

Beyond technology and finance, Wolters Kluwer continues to strengthen its position as a leader in corporate responsibility. For the seventh consecutive year, it retained the highest possible MSCI ESG rating of 'AAA'. It also ranked in the top 2% of software and services companies globally by Morningstar Sustainalytics, reflecting strong management of environmental, social, and governance risks. The company reported a 60% reduction in its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in 2025, driven by office footprint reduction and the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Looking ahead to 2026, the company projects another year of good organic growth, a further increase in its adjusted operating profit margin to approximately 28.0%, and high single-digit growth in diluted adjusted EPS, signaling confidence that its heavy investment in AI will fuel the next chapter of its growth story.