London Stock Exchange Group PLC shares rose 2.6% on the back of its results as it announced a larger dividend than expected and a £500 million share buyback.
The financial exchange and data group declared a full year dividend of 130p, which was 5% higher than expectations.
As well as the buyback, which is to be completed in the first half of the year, LSEG promising a further update at interim results "depending on other uses of capital."
Final results for 2024 showed revenues up up 6% to £8.5 billion and profit before tax up 5% to £1.3 billion.
Second-half revenues of £4.29 billion and underlying profit of £2.1 billion both beat consensus estimates, with better revenues at electronic trading software arm Tradeweb, the LCH clearing wing and the FTSE Russell index division, plus lower costs and a forex gain. The key Data & Analytics arm and Risk Intelligence division were both in-line with expectations.
Guidance for 2025 was updated, with revenue growth of 6.5-7.5% expected, compared to a consensus forecast of 7.1%, with 50-100bps of EBITDA margin expansion, and £2.4 billion of equity free cash flow.
CEO David Schwimmer said: "We have delivered on our strategy in 2024. LSEG has achieved a strong performance across the Group enhanced by an exceptional year for Tradeweb."
He said LSEG also reached an "important milestone" in the partnership with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), with the first products now generally available for customers, and "a strong pipeline" for 2025.
Guidance for continued growth and improving profitability this year "demonstrates our confidence in our model, which has consistently delivered strong performance across a range of market conditions", he said.